Tissue Culture: Converting a homemade sterile glove box into a filtered postive pressure system

Forgot to mention I also removed the gloves (as you can see.) It allows for the flanges to become exhaust ports. I’ll experiment with this design and modify it if need be.

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Sealed the fan/housing to keep air from being sucked in.

I had my vaping buddy stop by tonight so we could take the box for a spin. Had him take an few good rips and blow some clouds in through the ports. Flipped the fan on low, then repeated it with different fans speeds. What I was concerned about was confirmed. Way too many spinning currents and vortexes from what I could see. There was a tornado spinning around the flange I built on top, looked pretty cool actually. Air has to flow straight out for this to work though. I could keep modifying and tweaking the box, but I’m going to stop while I’m ahead. To make it work exactly how I want I can’t cut corners and need to build a legit laminar flow hood. Kiss it simple stupid, still air box it is lol :joy: Enough messing with the damn flow box, lets do some tissue culture.

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Try pulling your air through it…

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The gasket won’t support it, the seal will break allowing spore-filled air in. I could try to improve it, I’d need to place the filter on the intake. Still probably wouldn’t solve the air flow problem.

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Maybe rig something using material like this?

Maybe a pc fan blowing through 1 of these? You’d have enough you could easily replace them.

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That’s a possibility, that material actually looks pretty good. .3 microns would be great, the smallest mold spores are about that size maybe slightly larger. I’m going to experiment with still air and see what my contamination rates are before putting more into it.

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I like seeing your project because I’ve thought about doing something like this myself.

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You’re not satisfied with your still air box? I figured the advantage to mine would be I wouldn’t need to sanitize the room I’m working in before hand cause the box does it. In theory the contamination rates should be lower if I can work it out. I’m kind of on the fence with how I feel about it.

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Same thinking as you. Positive pressure with filtration is the way to go if you can figure it out, it just seems to be a puzzle no one has cracked yet.maybe pre and post filter? Go from blower, through straws to turn it into a laminar flow, then filter?

Air acts like a liquid quite often, the same principles should apply.

Maybe through polyfill, then straws?

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Air being a mixture of gasses would meet the description of a fluid because it fills the shape of its container and can be made made to flow, just like water. The problem I’m seeing here is that the air in the box is turbulant. There needs to be a steady stream coming from the entire back (or top, like in a verticle system) hitting the front and flowing down and out. Just like eddies in a river, bits of debris can get stuck in them and spin. In our case these are spores or bacteria that can land when we are plating or flasking. This is what a functioning flow hood should do…

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It’s a relatively simple concept just like the still air box. When you modify it you change the flow of air and that’s where the problems start.

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I guess if I hooked the flange on the cut off end of a two-liter bottle and settled for a micro flow hood it would work lol. That or cover the entire lid in filtered fans blowing down with a slot on the bottom of the front.

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What are everyone’s favorite burners for flaming tools? Those alcohol lamp ones look pretty janky. The infrared sterilization ones that you plug into the outlet are badass but a bit costly. They would be very useful, almost necessary for inside a laminar flow hood.

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Bic lighter. I have one that lives in there. It also gets rubbed down with alcohol at the beginning of work.

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Get a plumber’s torch :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Funny you mention that, I was using mine yesterday (not for TC lol.) Though the one I currenty have is way overkill.

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I used mine to light my cannagar now, works better than a bic since its so dense

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Knowing my klutz ass I would tip it over and burn the pad down. Might be best to get one of those little camping stove burners.

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How do you make yours? Interested in buying a hand made kit ? Lol (it’s not even made and I am already selling as if they were crabby patties)

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Threw this together today in a pinch. So simple it’s ridiculous.

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H2O2 deactivates bleach btw.
Your septic tank will love you for it.

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