Eppendorf has announced the launch of a CO₂ incubator shaker with integrated 180 °C sterilisation routine. Produced in Hamburg, Germany, the CellXpert CS220 is the first shaker to apply the established contamination protection standards of CO₂ incubator based cell cultivation—180 °C sterilisation.

In addition, the device expedites disinfection by having no drive wheel, cover sheets, cables, or heating fins inside the stainless-steel chamber. The CellXpert CS220 also features up to 40% higher flask capacity and the highest platform size to footprint ratio in the market

Expression of complex recombinant proteins, the production of viral vectors in mammalian cells, or the production of bioreactor starter cultures is primarily done in shake flask cultures inside CO2 incubator shakers. A major risk factor for reliable budget- and time-planning of these projects is contamination, especially with viruses or Mycoplasma.

“Our new CellXpert CS220 was developed specifically to speed up mammalian shake flask culture projects and to meet the industry’s increasing need for higher contamination prevention standards” says Maria Mattern, responsible for innovations of the Eppendorf´s shaker and CO₂ incubator portfolio.

“Most, if not all current CO2 incubator shakers in the market are microbiological shakers with optional CO2 control. This is also reflected in the low level of cleanability and missing sterilisation functions of these devices, as contamination is usually not a major issue in microbiological applications,” says Mattern.