Description
Liquid Culture Expander Kit
Introducing the Liquid Culture Expander Kit – perfect for your strain expanding pleasure! This non-live, fully sterile kit comes equipped with everything you need for easy use right out of the box.
What’s Included:
- 1x 20ml vial with 10ml of favorite liquid culture solution
- 1x 2.5ml luer lock syringe
- 1x 21g, 2-inch needle
- 1x alcohol swab
The vial is sealed with a butyl rubber injection port and secured with a PP5/aluminum peel-off cap, ensuring sterility and ease of use.
How to Use:
- Preparation: Before anything, clean the injection port with the provided alcohol swab to ensure sterility.
- Connection: Attach the 21g needle to the 2.5ml syringe.
- Agitation: Shake the syringe to properly mix the spores or liquid culture.
- Positioning: Hold the syringe with the needle facing downward for 10 seconds to allow spores to settle at the bottom.
- Injection: Gently inject between 0.2ml and 0.5ml of the spore or liquid culture solution into the Expander Vial through the injection port. The 21g needle is thin enough for precise control, allowing you to add just a drop if needed.If using a spore syringe, you’ll notice the spores transferring into the Expander Vial as you inject.
- Incubation: After injecting, incubate the Expander Vial at 26°C. For spore injections, this will encourage germination, and for liquid culture injections, it will foster growth and flourishing mycelium.
When Is It Ready?
When the mycelium growth covers 30% of the liquid in the Expander Vial, it’s ready for testing, use, or transferring to a new Expander Vial for further growth.
We love this product, and we’re confident you will too! With just 0.2ml of spore solution, you’ll have 10ml of thriving liquid culture in as little as 7–14 days.
Experiment: Expanding Lion’s Mane Mycelium Using the Strain Expander Kit
Objective: To successfully expand Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) mycelium using the Strain Expander Kit and a Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe from SporeBuddies.com.
Materials:
- 1x Strain Expander Kit (includes 20ml vial with 10ml liquid culture solution, 2.5ml syringe, 21g needle, alcohol swab)
- 1x Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe (SporeBuddies.com)
- Incubator (set at 26°C)
- Sterile gloves (optional but recommended)
- Paper towels or clean work surface
Safety Considerations: Ensure a sterile work environment by cleaning the workspace with disinfectant and wearing sterile gloves. Sterilize the vial’s injection port with the provided alcohol swab before injecting the liquid culture to avoid contamination.
Procedure:
Preparation of Work Area:
- Clean your work surface with a disinfectant or rubbing alcohol.
- Lay out all the materials and don sterile gloves if desired.
- Ensure the Strain Expander Kit and Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe are within reach.
Sterilize the Injection Port:
- Use the alcohol swab from the kit to thoroughly wipe the injection port on the 20ml Expander Vial.
- Allow the alcohol to dry completely to maintain sterility.
Attach Needle to Syringe:
- Remove the cap from the Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe.
- Securely attach the 21g, 2-inch needle to the syringe by screwing it on.
Agitate the Liquid Culture:
- Shake the Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe gently to disperse the mycelium evenly throughout the solution.
- Hold the syringe with the needle pointing downward for 10 seconds to allow any floating mycelium to settle toward the bottom of the syringe.
Inject Liquid Culture into the Expander Vial:
- Insert the needle into the sterilized injection port of the Expander Vial.
- Slowly inject 0.2ml to 0.5ml of Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture into the vial. The 21g needle is thin, allowing for precise dosing.
- Carefully withdraw the needle from the injection port, and recap the syringe for safe storage.
Incubation:
- Place the Expander Vial in an incubator set to 26°C. This temperature is ideal for promoting mycelial growth.
- Leave the vial undisturbed, checking occasionally for signs of growth.
Observation and Data Collection:
- Over the course of 7–14 days, observe the growth of the Lion’s Mane mycelium within the liquid culture.
- Once the mycelium covers approximately 30% of the liquid volume in the vial, it is ready for further use.
Data Collection Template:
| Day | Temperature (°C) | Visual Observations (Mycelium Growth) | % of Vial Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | No visible growth | 0% |
| 3 | 26 | Small clusters of mycelium | 5% |
| 7 | 26 | Noticeable mycelium webbing | 15% |
| 10 | 26 | Thickening of mycelium | 25% |
| 14 | 26 | Mycelium covers 30% of vial | 30% |
When Ready for Use:
- When the mycelium has covered at least 30% of the liquid, you can test, use, or transfer the culture to another Expander Vial for continued growth.
- To transfer, simply repeat the injection process into a new sterile vial using a fresh syringe and needle.
Conclusion: By following these steps, you can successfully expand Lion’s Mane mycelium using the Strain Expander Kit and Lion’s Mane Liquid Culture syringe. The mycelium should thrive and be ready for use or further expansion within 7–14 days, provided the incubation environment remains consistent.
Further Application: Once the mycelium has sufficiently expanded, it can be transferred to a substrate for fruiting, used for research, or further expanded in additional vials for larger-scale cultivation.
