Cine-Photomicrographic Apparatus With Constant Temperature Chamber for Tissue Culture Studies. ∗

Sano and Smith 1 reported a simplified technic for tissue culture, utilizing a glass (or metal) ring with 2 cover slips as the chamber, this is in turn placed within an ordinary Petri dish for convenience in handling and maintaining sterility. It possessed the advantages of easy accessibility to, and a flat surface for microscopic study of, the culture. The obvious desirability of being able to obtain permanent cinematographic records prompted the authors to devise a compact and simple apparatus in which constant temperature of any desired degree could be maintained, and with which filming of the culture could be carried out at will. Because of the apparent widespread interest in the apparatus, as expressed by many fellow investigators in this field, we felt it might extend its field of usefulness if we published a brief memorandum regarding its construction. A diagrammatic sketch, Fig. 1, is appended to make clear the mechanism. It should be mentioned that this is an original experimental model, and that certain obvious refinements could be incorporated in any subsequent unit.

Actually the apparatus was built around our special tissue culture dish, to permit the culture to remain in its normal upright position. This required the inversion of the microscope in order to obtain high power photomicrographs, as otherwise the depth of the culture chamber interfered with any but extremely low magnification projection. Partly to decrease the length of the optical system and partly because a side arm viewing prism was not available, the camera (a Bell-Howell 16 mm cartridge type) was interposed horizontally by the intervention of a prism in the projection system (see diagram). The light source was a standard Bausch and Lomb ribbon filament lamp of the projection tape.