Mycoplasma contamination in the lab

Mycoplasmas are a genus of bacteria that can contaminate cell cultures when preventative measures are not taken. They are antibiotic resistant and can penetrate sterilizing-grade filters due to their small size, making them very difficult to find and eliminate within cell cultures. Contamination not only compromises the results of cell-culture experiments, but it also wastes time, money and resources. Making sure your cell-culture lab is practicing good cell-culture conditions is essential to avoiding mycoplasma contamination.

In this In Focus in association with Sartorius, we present the dangers of mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures, top tips for preventing this contamination and techniques for detecting mycoplasmas in the lab.