Preparation and Sterilization of Media and Reagents
The media constituents and reagents used in cell culture must be carefully sterilized either by autoclaving or by filtration. Constituents like water, slats, and supplements like peptone, Tryptose, etc., which are heat stable, are autoclaved at 1210C for 20 min. Constituents like serum, trypsin, proteins, growth factors, etc., which are unstable in heat, must be sterilized by filtration through a 0.2-mm porosity membrance filte r. Each filtrate should be tested for sterility to avoid failure due to contamination
Autoclaving is cheaper, less laborious and uniformly effective. So, wherever possible, autoclaving is to be preferred to filtration and autoclavable versions of the media should be used. Most of the media now commercially available are usually pre-sterilized