Disinfection & Sterilisation of Laboratory Fridges, Freezers & Incubators
Quality assurance in research, process, pharmaceutical, teaching, medical and industrial laboratories is increasingly important. Cell culture contamination and/or prepared reagent solutions and other types of sample contamination can occur in fridges, freezers and incubators. Contamination problems can be minor annoyances, but can also be a serious problem or a major catastrophe [1–2].
In many cases, microbial contamination of lab refrigerators, freezers and incubators is a hidden problem. Fungi (moulds/mold), yeast, mycoplasmas, virus and bacteria can cause extensive damage . Therefore, contamination control of this equipment should be an integral component of quality lab practice and management.
We offer a 3-step decontamination process for reducing contamination conditions in lab fridges, freezers and incubators. This generally involves application of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), followed by steam disinfection, followed by manual cleaning with a chemical sterilant. This is applied to the volume of the vessel, the shelving, glass and seals, and plant and motor. As required, different gaseous or vapour sterilants may be used for pathogen elimination.
Disinfection followed by sterilisation of a laboratory fridge showing evidence of black mould. Day 5 viable plate culture results onto MEA incubated at 30oC, at which time colony forming unit (CFU) counts were performed for comparison.