Microbank™- Dry PRODUCT CODE PL.

172

INTENDED USE • Microbank™ Vials with Cryopreservative (without Beads) the Microbank™-Dry vial.
Microbank™-Dry is a ready to use system designed for the long term c. Replace the cap on the Microbank™-Dry vial tightly.
Cat No. Description No. Vials
storage and retrieval of bacterial and fungal isolates.
PL.173/M Microbank™- Mixed (16 vials of each colour) 80 B. INOCULATION OF MICROBANK™
SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION 1. Using a permanent marker, label a separate Microbank™ vial for
The long term storage of microorganisms is a significant challenge in PL.173/R Microbank™-Red 80 each organism to be stored.
microbiology. Microbank™-Dry offers a platform that utilizes porous PL.173/Y Microbank™-Yellow 80 2. Using aseptic technique, unscrew the Microbank™ vial cap.
glass beads and the customer's cryopreservative for storage at low tem- 3. Using a sterile inoculating loop or cotton swab, pick off enough
peratures. This format coupled with the Microbank™ Cryoblock offers PL.173/LB Microbank™-Light Blue 80 colonies from a pure culture to achieve a 3-4 McFarland standard in
the least possibility of disturbance to the stored organism, yet, permits PL.173/G Microbank™-Green 80 the cryopreservative. In general, an overnight culture (18-24 hours)
ready and rapid access. of the isolate is preferred.
PL.173/B Microbank™-Blue 80 4. Using aseptic technique, replace the cap on the Microbank™
DESCRIPTION vial tightly and invert it 4-5 times to emulsify the organism.
Each Microbank™-Dry vial contains approximately 25 sterile coloured • Freezer Storage Box-Blue PL.169/B-1 DO NOT VORTEX!
beads (single colour). The specially treated beads are of a porous nature • Freezer Storage Box-Red PL.169/R-1 5. Let the Microbank™ vial sit for 2 minutes to allow the isolate to
allowing microorganisms to readily adhere onto the bead surface. After bind to the beads. Remove the cap and use a sterile disposable pas-
the addition of cryopreservative and inoculation the Microbank™-Dry MATERIALS REQUIRED BUT NOT PROVIDED teur pipette to remove the cryopreservative. The beads should be
vials are kept at -70°C for extended storage. When a fresh culture is • Sterile pipettes as free of liquid as possible.
required, a single bead is easily removed from the Microbank™-Dry vial • Insulated Cryoblock PL.155-1 (Optional) 6. Close the Microbank™ vial finger tight only. It is important that the
and used to directly inoculate a suitable culture medium. • Inoculating Loops Microbank™ vials are not overtightened.
• Sterile Cotton Swabs 7. Place the Microbank™ vial in a Microbank™ Freezer Storage Box
MATERIALS PROVIDED • McFarland Standard and freeze at -70°C.
• Microbank™ Vials Dry • Sterile Disposable Pasteur Pipettes
C. RECOVERY OF THE BACTERIAL AND FUNGUS ISOLATES
Cat No. Description No. Vials STABILITY AND STORAGE 1. Remove the Microbank™ vial from the -70°C freezer and place it in
PL.172/M Microbank™- Mixed Dry 80 Before use, unused Microbank™-Dry may be stored at room tempera- a cold cryoblock (PL.155-1).
(16 vials of each colour) ture. Stored under these conditions Microbank™-Dry may be used up to 2. Using aseptic technique, open the Microbank™ vial and using a
the date of expiration shown on the product label. sterile needle or forceps remove one coloured bead. Close the
PL.172/R Microbank™-Red Dry 80 Microbank™ vial finger tight and return as soon as possible to the
PL.172/Y Microbank™-Yellow Dry 80 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS freezer. Excessive changes in temperature will reduce the viability
1. A microbiological safety cabinet should be used when making and of the frozen isolates.
PL.172/LB Microbank™-Light Blue Dry 80 manipulating a heavy suspension of a culture. 3. The bead may then be streaked directly onto a solid medium or
2. Observe biohazard precautions when discarding used or partly may be inoculated into an appropriate liquid medium.
PL.172/G Microbank™-Green Dry 80
used Microbank™ vials.
PL.172/B Microbank™-Blue Dry 80 3. When storing Microbank™ in liquid nitrogen, the following precau- LIMITATIONS
tions should be taken: 1. Microbank™-Dry is offered solely as a means of providing long
RELATED PRODUCTS a. Ensure that the Microbank™ vial screw cap is tight. Over- term storage of bacterial and fungal isolates.
Microbank™ is also available with the cryopreservative or without the tightening may cause distortion of the silicone O-ring in the 2. Aseptic technique should be practiced at all times to ensure con-
beads. cap which may cause leakage. tinued integrity of the stored isolate.
b. Ensure that the thread of the Microbank™ vial and screw cap is 3. Microbank™-Dry should not be used if the expiration date on the
• Microbank™ Vials with Cryopreservative completely dry before closing: liquid drops will impair the seal outer label has elapsed.
in liquid nitrogen. 4. Beads should never be returned to the Microbank™-Dry vial for any
Cat No. Description No. Vials
c. All Microbank™ vials should always be stored in the gas phase, reason.
PL.170/M Microbank™-Mixed (16 vials of each colour) 80 above liquid nitrogen. If immersed, they might develop leaks or 5. Microbank™-Dry vials are supplied in a variety of colours. These
even shatter when returned to room temperature. colours do not imply any change in the product's function. The
PL.170/R Microbank™-Red 80 d. When removing vials from liquid nitrogen containers, always different colours are provided so that the user can utilize them for
PL.170/Y Microbank™-Yellow 80 use safety equipment such as gloves, hoods, face shields etc. their own tracking purposes.
PL.170/LB Microbank™-Light Blue 80 PROCEDURE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
PL.170/G Microbank™-Green 80 A. PREPARATION Microbank™ has been used successfully for the storage and retreival of
1. Cryopreservative is prepared based on the customer's formulation bacteria and fungi by many customers since its introduction. Current
PL.170/B Microbank™-Blue 80 and sterilized. data held at Pro-Lab Diagnostics and available to customers in the
2. Using asceptic technique, add cryopreservative to the required Microbank™ World Wide Performance Portfolio contains full details for
number of Microbank™-Dry vials: the successful long term storage and recovery of many bacterial and
a. Unscrew the Microbank™-Dry vial cap. fungal isolates.
b. Using a sterile pipette transfer 1 ml of cryopreservative into

Canada 800 268 2341 Fax 905 731 0206 U.S.A. 800 522 7740 Fax 800 332 0450 EC REP U.K. 0151 353 1613 Fax 0151 353 1614
20 Mural Street, Unit #4, Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 1K3 21 Cypress Blvd., Suite 1070, Round Rock, Texas, 78665-1034 3 Bassendale Road, Bromborough, Wirral, Merseyside, CH62 3QL
1. A continual performance study by Brazier and Hall at the PHLS
Reference Centre (U.K.) currently demonstrates 10 years of suc-
cessful storage and retreival of 100 anaerobes in the Microbank™
system.
2. Moyes and Young, U.K. Gonococcal Reference Laboratory, achieved
excellent recovery using Microbank™ (98.6%) with GC isolates after
12 months.
3. Espinal and Ingroff, Spain, demonstrated successful storage of 6,198
(97.8%) yeasts and 391 (98.6%) moulds with up to 10 years of stor-
age.
4. Killingworth, Le Roux, Lastovica, Cape Town South Africa, demon-
strated the successful storage and retrieval of fastidious isolates of
Camplylobacter and Helicobacter using Microbank™.
5. Donovan, U.K. PHLS, demonstrated the successful storage in
Microbank™ for two years of 44 standard NCTC/ATCC isolates
recommended for Quality Control and laboratory accreditation
requirements.
6. The VLA Brucella Research Laboratory, demonstrated the successful
storage and retrieval after two years in Microbank™ of representa-
tive isolates of each sub-species of Brucella including the most fas-
tidious type Brucella abortus biovar 2.
7. McLaren and Bell, VLA Salmonella Reference Laboratory, currently
holds data for the successful storage and retrieval of 597 isolates of
Salmonella using Microbank™ since 1992.
Note: The above studies were done with the PL.170 product format (cryo-
preservative supplied by Pro-Lab). Recovery will be affected by the formula-
tion of the cryopreservative utilized by the customer.

REFERENCES
1. White and Sand, R.L. 1985. Medical Laboratory Sciences 42:289-
290 (U.K.)
2. Feltham et al. 1978. Journal of Applied Bacteriology. 44:313-316.
3. Nagel, J.G. & Cunz, L.J. 1971. Applied Microbiology. 23(4):837-838.

= Use by

LOT = Lot number

REF = Catalogue number

= Manufacturer

EC REP = Authorized Representative in the European Community

= Temperature limitation

= Consult instructions for use

i
STERILE R =Sterilization using irradiation

Revision: 2012 11