The MEDIACLAVE product range allows the rapid and gentle sterilisation of 1 – 30 L culture medium. Precise controlling and monitoring of temperature, time and pressure during the sterilisation process guarantee constant high quality. The intuitive graphical user interface and the simple programming make it very easy for everyone to operate the MEDIACLAVE.
First step - Medium formulation
The MEDIACLAVE is quickly set up. Insert the cuvette (container for media), fill in the coupling water (water jacket between the cuvette and the vessel for efficient heat transfer) and you are ready to prepare your culture medium.
Culture medium can be suspended and dissolved directly within the MEDIACLAVE. The strong magnetic stirrer guarantees homogeneous mixing within the vessel and prevents coagulation.Alternatively, culture medium can be dissolved and pre-swelled using the WATER BATH operation mode prior to sterilisation.
The intuitive, multilingual graphical user interface makes it very easy for everyone to use the MEDIACLAVE – no special training of the staff is required.
Up to 50 programs with user-defined parameter settings such as sterilisation temperature, sterilisation time or dispensing temperature can be saved and recalled.
Operation modes:
Two main operation modes for media preparation, plus two extra modes can be selected and the parameters set to your needs:
1. STANDARD mode: For the preparation of standard and highly sensitive culture media. Sterilisation temperature/time and dispensing temperature can be set.
2. CHOCOLATE AGAR mode:A special two-step program that allows the preparation of complex media. After the first sterilisation phase, supplement, e.g. blood, can be added through the adding port. Subsequently, a second heating phase will be performed.
3. WATER BATH mode: For pre-swelling culture media prior to sterilisation within the temperature range 30 – 80°C. In combination with an autoclave cuvette (only MEDIACLAVE 10), liquids in glassware can be thermostatted.
4. AUTOCLAVE mode (MEDIACLAVE 10 only):MEDIACLAVE 10, together with an optional autoclave kit can be used as a bench top autoclave for the sterilisation of small amounts of culture media in glassware such as Erlenmeyer flasks or test tubes
Second step - Medium sterilization
High Operational Safety
An automatic tightness check at the beginning of each sterilisation cycle prevents the instrument from starting if, for example, the lid seal of the vessel is not inserted properly – avoiding incomplete sterilisation and subsequent media rejection. Furthermore, MEDIACLAVE is equipped with several independent monitoring systems for pressure and temperature, guaranteeing highest safety standards for the user and the working environment. The vessel lid is equipped with an autonomous overpressure safety valve and a burst disc in case all other electronic monitoring systems fail.
Fast Heating
Powerful heating elements permit fast media processing. This minimises thermal stress and ensures high fertility of your culture media. Pressure and temperature controlled deaeration guarantees saturated steam in the vessel – an absolute must for complete sterilisation.
Reliable Sterilisation
The large and strong magnetic stirrer with adjustable speed and reversing rotation direction ensures homogenous media preparation over a wide viscosity range. A Pt-1000 temperature probe and microprocessor control of all relevant process parameters allow reliable and complete sterilisation of culture media.
Rapid Cooling
Rapid cooling is enabled by an efficient plate heat exchanger. The spatial separation of the cooling water system and the sterilisation chamber makes it virtually impossible that culture media will get contaminated by cooling water. The built-in support pressure system prevents a delay in boiling during the rapid cool down phase and thereby allows an extraordinary fast and gentle cooling.
Third step - Dispensing of the sterilised medium
Easy Dispensing
The wide adding port facilitates fast and safe addition of supplements such as antibiotics, blood or growth factors prior to dispensing. The automatic in-process sterilisation of the dispense port eliminates the risk of medium contamination during dispensing.
The vessel and the dispensing system of the MEDIACLAVE were designed to avoid dead volume, allowing laboratories to save costs due to maximal medium yield.
The MEDIACLAVE can be quickly and conveniently connected to the dispensing tubing of the automated Petri dish filler MEDIAJET, allowing the dispensing of agar media into up to 540 Petri dishes at the touch of a button.
In addition, the peristaltic pump DOSE IT can be used to fill containers of more unusual volumes or shapes, e.g. quadrangular Petri dishes, bottles or flasks.