BINDER CB Series CO2 Incubators used in Virological Research Department of Intervet

Intervet, a company specializing in biological research, is actively engaged in the research and development, production, and marketing of animal health products. Its product range includes vaccines for large and small animals, poultry, and fish, as well as anti-parasitic agents, anti-infective products, and endocrine substances. These vaccines are manufactured and tested in the virological research department of Intervet Int. BV, in Boxmeer, Netherlands, using BINDER CB series CO2 incubators.

Intervet researchers first noticed the BINDER CO2 incubators at a workshop for “Temperature measurement in incubators.” Following an initial test phase of this equipment, the company’s laboratory now uses 20 CB 150 incubators. The virological department develops vaccines against viral diseases in large and small animals. A typical example is bluetongue disease, a viral infection that occurs in ruminants. This disease must be reported in Germany and in the EU countries. It is transmitted only transdermally, i.e. through the skin, by mosquitoes (gnats) of the culicoides species. The first incidence of bluetongue disease was reported to Intervet at the end of the warm summer in 2006.

A CO2 incubator must fulfill several critical requirements in this area. The most important is the ability to guarantee optimum cell growth within the optimal temperature range. Another very critical point is a short recovery time when the door is opened, in order to protect sensitive cell cultures. BINDER CO2 incubators meet these demanding requirements with a perfect price/performance ratio. Any germs in the sensitive ranges of cell cultivation can destroy many weeks’ worth of work. BINDER solves this problem with hot air sterilization at 180 °C (356 ºF). Hot air sterilization should be performed at regular intervals, and of course in emergencies when cell cultures are contaminated with fungi. This sterilization procedure can be carried out conveniently during an overnight sterilization cycle that requires no extra maintenance or replacement costs for lamps, filters, and other interior fittings. This easy and cost-effective cleaning procedure is a powerful selling point for BINDER customers. With BINDER’s stacking adapters, two incubators can be placed on top of each other and can even be hot-air sterilized independently of each other. This conserves costly space in the laboratory and offers the optimum environment.