A borosilicate glass cylinder similar to a cloning ring having an optically flat polished end that hydrostatically seals to another flat optical surface so that grease is not required that is used when plating cells to position them for observation and improve plating time by restricting the amount of media that the cells have to re-equilibrate after being tripsinized. Culture cylinders are reusable and autoclaveable.
They are used to barricade cells or suspended specimens in a Delta T Dish or when plating cells on a coverslip to be incorporated into another structure for imaging. Their optically flat, polished ends seal to other flat optical surfaces without the need for grease. Therefore, their use does not contaminate or inhibit migration of cells. They are available in a variety of inside diameters including, 1mm, 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm. Custom size geometries are available. The outer diameter is always two mm greater than the inside diameter due to the 1mm wall thickness. The cylinders are made of glass having a specific gravity of 2.55. Therefore, they are much heavier than plastic cloning rings. Culture Cylinders can be autoclaved for reuse. In addition to positioning cells where you want them, they limit the amount of media that cells have to re-equilibrate once tripsinized so they settle and plate faster.
When using Culture Cylinders with the Delta T, select the appropriate size cylinder for the protocol and place the cylinder into the center of the dish. Pipette the specimen into the cylinder. Then pipette media around the cylinder to a depth equal to the depth in the cylinder, thereby equalizing hydrostatic forces. Make sure to maintain a minimum 1.5ml of media in the dish to maintain its thermal properties. Several cylinders can be used at the same time in a single dish for multiple specimens.