Highveld Biological

PREMIXED NUTRIENT MEDIA FOR PLANT TISSUE CULTURE

The commercial application of tissue culture techniques ('micropropagation') has vastly expanded the scope and potential of vegetative propagation of plants. Tissue culture provides a powerful tool for extending the regenerative processes (that are inherent in all plants) to a wide range of cells and tissues. This is possible in many, if not all species of plants. Because the vectors of systemic disease are excluded from the environment, in vitro techniques are eminently suited for rapid propagation and storage of disease-free plants. Within two decades, plant tissue culture has progressed from a research technique to one used for mass propagation of many species in commercial laboratories.

Highveld Biological has been involved in the manufacture of pre-mixed nutrient plant tissue culture media for many years. Essentially, we offer dehydrated powdered media on two levels:

Standard published formulations of plant culture media i.e. Murashige & Skoog media, Nitsch & Nitsch basal salts, Knudson's orchid medium, and other well known salt and vitamin mixtures.
Media made according to customer's specific formulations. The recipes may include hormones and other growth factors and are often proprietary. Highveld Biological frequently enters into secrecy agreements that give customers legal protection for their intellectual property.

The advantages of using pre-mixed powder media in the large industrial plant tissue culture laboratory as well as in the small research laboratory are summarized and listed below:

Cost-effective: Pre-mixed media save labor, time and space; large pre-tested batches eliminate failures due to technical errors made in the media department.
Quality tested: Our media are tested by an independent laboratory for their ability to support actively growing callus and and produce healthy shoots and plantlets.
Consistent performance: Large batches (up to 30 000 litres) guarantee uniform results for many months, depending on the volume used.
Easy to use: The powder is dissolved in the appropriate amount of water (see instructions below) and autoclaved. Packaging can be arranged to suit the customer ranging from I litre to 100 litre units.
Flexible: Hormones and other growth factors may be added to the basic salt mixtures either before or after autoclaving if our sterile solutions are used.
Labor saving: Making media is a specialized job that requires a high level of accuracy and reliability; pre-mixed medium can save the time of a trained person.
Space-saving: Air tight containers can be stacked at ambient temperature to occupy a minimum amount of space.
One-stop-purchase: Pre-mixed media eliminate the necessity of sourcing many different items of chemicals and controlling large amounts of stock.
Guaranteed confidentiality: Not only is the confidentiality guaranteed between customer and manufacturer, but also between management and unqualified staff through our coded labeling system.

QUALITY CONTROL

The pre-mixed powder medium is subject to a number of quality control tests. These results are carefully recorded and compiled so that the customer can refer to them at any time.

Physical and chemical analysis:

Weighing protocols of the medium.
Moisture content of powder.
Color and appearance of powder medium.
Solubility of powder at 250°C.
pH of solution.
Color and appearance of liquid medium.
Turbidity of solution before and after heat sterilization.
Stability of powder and solutions.
State of sterility of liquid medium after autoclaving (extensive QA).

Biological performance test:

The biological quality control protocol requires stringent testing of the product in three different biological assays:

A non-differentiating callus culture.
A differentiating (proliferating) shoot cell line.
A tissue culture line, that under normal culture conditions exhibits vigorous root and shoot growth.

STORAGE OF PLANT TISSUE CULTURE MEDIA AND CONCENTRATES

The pre-mixed powder media are hygroscopic and should be kept in tightly closed containers under dry, cool conditions. Once the container is opened, the entire content should be used immediately or if not, packed closely in a plastic bag. Concentrated solutions are best divided into appropriate units for storage until use. Deterioration of the products will be recognized by precipitation or a change of color or pH or poor performance in the tissue culture test.

PREPARATION OF 10 LITRE LIQUID MEDIUM FROM POWDER

Measure 10 litre of biotechnology water. Add the correct amounts of macro- and micron nutrients and sucrose, mix well. Add the required amount(s) of liquid concentrate growth hormone(s), mix well and adjust the pH to 5.8. Decant the medium into smaller units (2 litre or smaller) for best sterilization results. Add gelrite (3g/L in clear media and 4g/L in media containing charcoal), mix and autoclave.

Take great care that the cooled down medium is dispensed into growth tubs at the right tempera-ture (before gelling) and in a laminar flow cabinet, carefully observing sterility.

PLANT TISSUE CULTURE MEDIA (PRE-MIXED POWDER) AVAILABLE FROM HIGHVELD BIOLOGICAL

Media containing macro- and micronutrients (w or w/o vitamins) - for prices please inquire.
Media containing macro- and micronutrients with hormones and other growth factors (custom-made) - for prices please inquire.
M&S and some other standard formulations are also available in amounts of less than 100L - for prices please inquire.

Autoclavable plant tissue culture containers

Overall height	90mm	Square lid: Polyethylene
Width of lid	75mm	Square base: Polycarbonate
Width of base	63mm

HIGHVELD BIOLOGICAL ALSO UNDERTAKES CONTRACT WORK IN PLANT MICROPRO-PAGATION