We are often asked whether wearing outdoor shoes in the cell culture lab is really that bad.
Here is why you should swap those outdoor shoes for lab shoes or slippers:
Although we have five senses, we cannot rely on them to perceive everything that is going on around us.
We donโt see the clouds of aerosols ๐ when we pipette, we donโt smell ๐ the plastic abrasion when we vortex a tube. We donโt hear ๐ the steam rising from the water bath, and we donโt taste when a speck of dust enters our mouth ๐.
And we donโt see particles stirred up from the floor as we walk towards the incubator, to get our flasks when it is time to passage them โ๏ธ.
Cell culture labs are usually clean rooms, but we must remember that even a single bacterial spore stuck to a dust particle ๐ฆ can cause contamination if it finds its way into your cell culture flask. The more sources of contaminants there are, the higher the risk of contamination. Simple statistics ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ.
So, to reduce one source of contamination, slip on your lab shoes and enjoy a wonderful day in your cell culture lab โจ๐โจ!
#CellCulture #Contamination #GCCP #STEM #MINT
Author: asban