Sterilization, Cleaning and Cryobiology

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

MATERIAL PICK-UP AND DELIVERY.

There will be four rounds of collection and delivery of material, except for urgent needs and depending on the availability and workload of the Department.

Each laboratory has an assigned cart where the material to be washed, disinfected, or sterilized should be deposited.

Material deposited in the assigned carts should be marked or labeled with the number of the laboratory to which it belongs, for subsequent delivery.

Thermal disinfectors, autoclaves and drying stoves are exclusively used by Department’s technicians, with the exception of authorized users.

It is recommended to remove the remains of any solution inside the containers that are going to be washed.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

LIQUIDS STERILIZATION (AUTOCLAVE)

There will be four rounds of collection and delivery of sterilized liquids; except for urgent needs and depending on the availability and workload of the Department.

Each laboratory has an assigned cart to deposit the containers with liquids to be sterilized.

All containers should be marked or labeled with the number of the laboratory to which they belong, for subsequent delivery.

For correct sterilization, containers with liquids (solutions, H2O, culture media) must not exceed 80% of the total volume of the container, to avoid overflowing and subsequent contamination of the materials and/or the own autoclave.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

ROOM USAGE

Work areas of both Department rooms must be left in perfect condition after use and must be cleaned by each user with the products provided by the Department. Moreover, the usage of gloves and any other type of personal protective equipment (PPE) considered necessary by management is obligatory.

To guarantee safety when handling equipments such as pH-meters and Osmometers, there will be a usage record sheet, which is available next to both equipments. It will be necessary to sign up.

Service technicians will be available to users in case they require training or assistance.  

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

LAMINAR FLOW HOOD

To make a proper use of the laminar flow hoods, they must be reserved.

For this purpose, there is a booking sheet in each hood, in which each user should reserve the time they need and leave a record specifying the laboratory to which they belong.  

The laminar flow hoods will be cleaned once a week by the Department technicians.

User guidelines:

• Its use is limited to culture media plating.

• Remove all material when finished it is required.

• Switch off the hood once it has been used.

• Leave it in a perfect state of cleanliness.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

STOVE TO KEEP CULTURE MEDIUM

Department technicians will place all the media specified on the container in these stoves, once they have been sterilized, so that the users can subsequently collect them.

The use of the stove is limited to their capacity, and the equipment must remain in the stove for the shortest time possible.

In case that Department technicians observe that the media have been there for more than 7 days, users will be notified to pick-up their media.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:

LIQUID NITROGEN

The Sterilization, Cleaning and Cryobiology technicians are responsible for the control and refilling of the containers.

Liquid nitrogen may only be obtained from the authorized tank, which shall be duly marked as "Common Use".

The capacity of the Nitrogen rooms is limited to one person, due to their limited space.

The use of the lances for obtaining liquid nitrogen is strictly forbidden to all personnel outside the Sterilization, Cleaning and Cryobiology Service.

For the correct handling of the tube racks, the necessary safety material (protective gloves and safety screen) will be available in both rooms.

The material must always remain in the room for the use of all users of the center.

The room may only be used by Service staff or authorized personnel.

As a preventive measure, since they are in common use, the use of clean latex, nitrile or vinyl gloves is mandatory under the specific protective gloves that will be available in the nitrogen rooms.