Some practical aspects of the use of laminar airflow systems for tissue culture manipulations.

The use of laminar airflow systems for tissue culture offers real promise in the control of airborne contamination. Some of the theoretical considerations in testing, design, and operation have been presented (1, 2). It is the purpose of this note to compare the advantages of a laminar airflow system with the conventional bench top, and to discuss some of the unique problems of these units in the tissue culture laboratory. The major advantage ascribed to laminar systems is that the design of the unit provides a particle-free, aseptic environment in which cultures may be manipulated without fear of microbial contamination. A unit received in this laboratory (model no. CVF-RX; Baker Corp., Biddeford, Me.) was subjected to sterility testing to determine whether microorganisms could be recovered by incubating petri dishes with media after exposure to the airflow. Petri dishes (100 mm) containing Trypticase Soy Agar medium