10 Quick Tips to Prevent Mycoplasma Contamination
Tip 01 - Always wear PPE (personal protective equipment)
- Clean lab coats regularly
- Dedicate lab coats to cell culture
- Always wear gloves
- Wear a mask if needed
Tip 02 - Know your cells’ origin
- Always get cells from a reliable source
- Mycoplasma survives in liquid nitrogen
- Quarantine new cells entering the lab
Tip 03 - Practice good sterile technique
- Watch for drips from pipettes
- Clean spills immediately
- Don’t talk over cells
Tip 04 - Keep the lab clean
- Keep work areas neat and avoid clutter
- Service equipment regularly
- Sterilize work environments before, during, and after
Tip 05 - Work with only one cell line
- Have only one bottle of medium open at a time
- Have a maximum of 3 to 4 culture dishes in the hood
Tip 06 - Don’t use hood for storage
- Don’t store extra materials in the hood
- Don’t let containers or waste pile up and block air flow
Tip 07 - Keep media covered
- Keep lids on your media and culture dishes
- Arrange your reagents and cells so that you are not reaching over them
- Lift lids only when you are using them
Tip 08 - Use antibiotics responsibly
- Avoid routine or long-term use on cells
- Mycoplasma contamination often co-occurs with bacterial contamination
Tip 09 - Keep good records
- Record contamination events
- Keep a log of new cells entering and leaving lab
- Track changes in reagent lots
Tip 10 - Screen regularly
- New cells enter the lab
- Cells are thawed from liquid nitrogen
- Suspicious cell cultures
- Prior to publication
- Routine monthly monitoring