The plate was not incubated at the appropriate temperature or CO₂ level.

You: ‘I looked this up and another possibility is that the incubator conditions fluctuated. Cells are sensitive to temperature and CO₂ levels, which maintain the pH of the media.’ 

Dr Lee nods in agreement. ‘Let’s inspect the incubator logs to check if there were any interruptions over the last 48 hours.’

The students review the incubator records and find that everything appeared normal.

Michael: ‘A drop in CO₂ could have made the media more acidic or basic, leading to additional stress on the cells. That would make the media in the stressed wells looks more yellow than the control wells.’

Dr. Lee: ‘Good point Michael! Yellow indicates a drop in pH, likely due to a lack of CO₂.’

Elena: ‘Our media appear cloudy but the color is still the same so that’s not the problem here.’

 

Dr. Lee emphasizes the importance of consistent incubator conditions and media preparation as the students consider their next troubleshooting steps.

 

Consider your other options:

  • Contamination of media or poor aseptic technique.
  • Check the experimental set-up after 48hrs

Map: CELL CULTURE (1063)
Node: 20077
Score:

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  • The plate was not incubated at the appropriate temperature or CO₂ level.

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