Building A Transfer Chamber

Building A Transfer Chamber

A sterile environment is needed when working with microbes and tissues. A sterile environment greatly reduces the chance of contamination by other microbes and materials in the air. Here I make a simple transfer chamber from an old aquarium, an fluorescent light, plastic and tape.

The plastic is cut a little larger than the opening of the aquarium. This allows the plastic to fold around the edges where it is taped to the aquarium. I tape the plastic only half way down the sides of the aquarium. This allows for my hands and arms to enter the chamber. The fluorescent light sits on top of the aquarium to allow me to see inside.

I sterilize the inside of the chamber by wiping down all surfaces with 70% alcohol or Lysol. This is a very simple transfer chamber and can be made very easily. I have seen it made from clear tote boxes, etc. It is not the best of chambers but it will help cut down on contamination. Later I will discuss building a much better one. Again this was built from everything I already had or found.

The top picture shows the chamber setup in my lab. It is placed on a metal shelve. The shelve above it holds the incubator and a storage of petri-dishes.

The middle picture shows it put together.

The bottom picture shows the parts used to build the chamber - aquarium, plastic, light and tape.