ORDERING AND DISPATCH OF CULTURES

LABORATORY PROCEDURES FOR MICROORGANISMS

REFERENCE NO.: M/1998/4.00

TITLE: ORDERING AND DISPATCH OF CULTURES

Collections supply cultures to laboratories and educational institutions and to individuals who are trained in microbiology and have access to properly equipped laboratories but generally not to private individuals. First orders from new clients should be sent on an order form with the client’s official letterhead and signed by an authorized person.

Every effort should be made by the collection to supply only pure, viable and authentic cultures. Customers receiving cultures from the collection are responsible for their correct handling. The collection is not liable for damages and/or injuries arising from shipment or handling of cultures.

The ordering system provides for a correct and fast delivery of ordered cultures of strains offered by the collection.

Whenever possible, All relevant information concerning customers, resources and stock management should be computerized and linked. As such, delivery notes, (proforma) invoices, address labels, shipper’s declarations, etc. can be automatically generated.

Micro-organisms are distributed in various forms:

Actively growing on agar slants or in liquid medium.

Transfers are either made from stock agar slants or liquid medium or from cryopreserved material. In all cases time should be allowed for sufficient growth and checks. Generally dispatch can be within two weeks, but slow growing organisms may require up to four weeks.

Freeze-dried in ampoules. This is usually the preferred method, as it is fast (no checks necessary) and cheap (small parcels).

Frozen, and distributed in dry ice. The method has to be fast (dry ice lasts only a number of days) and is expensive (dry ice, insulation, large parcels).

Package and labeling should be according to national and/or international regulations. For the latter see Rohde/Claus, Shipping of infectious, non-infectious and genetically modified biological materials - International regulations, 1998 edition, DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH.

The package must also contain a list of contents and instructions on opening of ampoules and rehydration of (freeze)-dried or how to deal with the material.

A flow chart on the delivery of cultures is attached [M/1998/4.00 Appendix 1]

Guidelines prepared for CABRI by DSMZ, CBS and BCCM, 17 May 1998
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Copyright CABRI, 1998

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