Athena Tissue Culture Kit | Flow Hood, Autoclave, Roots + Shoots Media

Athena Tissue Culture Kit: A Complete Tabletop Lab

This kit is a complete tabletop lab for keeping a cultivar library in jars instead of a room full of mother plants. Everything for sterile work comes in the one kit. At its center is a portable flow hood that pushes air through a G3 pre-filter and a True HEPA H13 filter. Clean air reaches the work zone at an average face velocity of 0.5 to 0.9 m/s. That sterile zone measures 2.58 cu ft and extends about 24 in in front of the filter. The hood is solid aluminum with a tempered-glass door and LED lighting, and it weighs 33 lb. It draws only 50W and carries two built-in outlets that power the autoclave. That autoclave has an 8 L stainless chamber, big enough for a full batch of media and tools. Sterilizing is one-touch, with a digital progress display and a gauge reading temperature and pressure. Safety and manual pressure-release valves round it out. An integrated toolbox carries the instruments, Roots and Shoots media and supplies for 120 culture vessels. Both media come pre-formulated, so you only add water.

Bringing Plant Tissue Culture Into a Small Grow Operation

Plant tissue culture lets a grower bank dozens of genetics on a single shelf and pull clean starts back out when they are needed. It is also how growers outgrow infections such as hop latent viroid, by working from tiny pieces of fresh growth rather than a compromised mother. Set the hood on a sturdy table with a few inches of clearance behind the rear intake, and run it a while before starting. Sterilize media, vessels and instruments in the autoclave, then do every cut and transfer inside the clean air zone. Shoots media pushes new growth during multiplication, and Roots media takes plantlets toward acclimation. The step-by-step procedure printed inside the toolbox lid walks through each stage. Refills of media and vessels keep the program going once the first batch is used. Expect a real learning curve. Sterile technique takes practice, and a few contaminated vessels are part of learning it. The alcohol burner in the kit is an open flame, so the room needs ventilation and a fire extinguisher nearby. Plan on a dedicated corner for the hood and a place to store vessels under steady light and temperature.

Key Features

• HEPA Flow Hood: A G3 pre-filter and True HEPA H13 filter keep a large work zone clean for cutting and transfers.
• 8 L One-Touch Autoclave: Stainless construction and a single start button make sterilizing media and tools repeatable.
• Pre-Formulated Media: Roots and Shoots mixes contain every ingredient, so you only add water.
• Supplies for 120 Vessels: The integrated toolbox carries instruments and media for a full first round of cultures.
• Built-In Procedure: Step-by-step instructions inside the toolbox lid guide each stage of the process.
• Powered Outlets on the Hood: Two outlets on the flow hood run the autoclave from a single wall connection.
• Compact Footprint: The whole lab fits on a tabletop, which suits a small room or a corner of a propagation area.

Technical Specifications