1. Check all containers for leakage or breakage.

2. Remove the frozen cells from the dry ice packaging and immediately place the cells at a temperature below --130°C, preferably in liquid nitrogen vapor, until ready for use.

To insure the highest level of viability, thaw the vial and initiate the culture as soon as possible upon receipt. If upon arrival, continued storage of the frozen culture is necessary, it should be stored in liquid nitrogen vapor phase and not at -70°C.  Storage at -70°C will result in loss of viability.

1. Thaw the vial by gentle agitation in a 37°C water bath. To reduce the possibility of contamination, keep the O-ring and cap out of the water.  Thawing should be rapid (approximately 2 minutes).

2. Remove the vial from the water bath as soon as the contents are thawed, and decontaminate by dipping in or spraying with 70% ethanol. All of the operations from this point on should be carried out under strict aseptic conditions.

3. Transfer the vial contents to a 75 cm2 tissue culture flask and dilute with the recommended complete culture medium (see the specific batch information for the recommended dilution ratio).   It is important to avoid excessive alkalinity of the medium during recovery of the cells.  It is suggested that, prior to the addition of the vial contents, the culture vessel containing the growth medium be placed into the incubator for at least 15 minutes to allow the medium to reach its normal pH (7.0 to 7.6).

4. Incubate the culture at 37°C in a suitable incubator.  A 5% CO2 in air atmosphere is recommended if using the medium described on this product sheet.

If it is desired that the cryoprotective agent be removed immediately, or that a more concentrated cell suspension be obtained, centrifuge the cell suspension at approximately 125 x g for 5 to 10 minutes.  Discard the supernatant and resuspend the cells with fresh growth medium at the dilution ratio recommended in the specific batch information.