Aeration / Active O₂ supply

[Manuel L.]

Hi,
we are planning an aerobic culture where we suspect that stirring alone may not provide enough oxygen. I’ve read the other forum threads discussing oxygen availability and gas exchange.

Has anyone tried introducing air or O₂ into the headspace? I’ve seen that some groups have introduced CO₂ into the headspace using an external setup.
Could a similar approach be used to introduce air or oxygen for aeration?
If so, do you know what kind of pumping or regulation system is typically used, and whether anyone has experience with this?

Also, has anyone explored using the peristaltic pumps to move air, or is that generally discouraged?

Thanks in advance!
Manuel

[harrison]

Hey!
We have done this. I think the headspace is generally fine since the pump removing liquid in practice does refresh that air. Instead, what we have done for e.g. cyanobacteria or others where we want maximum oxygenation, is using a cheap amazon aquarium pump to bubble air into the reactor liquid by putting a longer silicone tube from one of the ports in the lid to the bottom of the test tube. Note that this can then mess with OD readings if it gets in the way but in our case this was fine. This approach (e.g. sparging gass into the liquid) was better in our opinion compared to just pushing air through the headspace (since this is done anyway to some extent)

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