One Syringe with One Whole Print A simple technique with minimal equipment is to take 1 print in a zip-lock bag and one syringe of sterile mineral water.
Flame the needle so that it is sterile. Inject 1/2 the syringe water into the bag and give a (technical term) squidge about so that the spores come off the print and mingle with the water.
Suck the water back up into the syringe, flame the needle once more and replace needle guard.
I wouldn't recommend using this technique more than once on a print. For that you will some sort of sterile environment which I will post as soon as I get time.
Don't forget to label your syringes.
Several Syringes from 1 Spore Print Firstly you need to prepare syringes with sterile spring water.
Boil a cup of spring water with cling-film over the cup with a couple of small slits.
Remove the syringe and needle from their packets.
Draw up a syringe full of boiling water, replace the needle guard and allow to cool (flame needle afterwards to steralise). Repeat for more syringes.
Spray the glovebox with Dettox spray or similar.
Once the water in the syringe has cooled place in the sterile glove box along with the spore print, a small glass, isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and scalpal.
Wipe out the glass and scalpal blade with alcohol and allow to evaporate.
The size of the print will dictate how many syringes you will make from it but also your own preferences. I make about 5 syringes from 1 1.5" diameter print but this will vary according to the density of the print.
In theory you could make many, many syringes from a print this size (50+) but in practice these syringes are very weak. Some people would just make a couple of syringes from a print like this.
Scrape some of the spores from the material the print came on using the sterile scalpal blade into the sterile glass (the smaller the glass the better...we will be using about 5cc's of water), and put the print back in its packet and seal.
Squirt around 5cc's of water from the syringe into the glass and onto the spores. Mix the spores into the water with the tip of the needle. Draw up the spore water back into the syringe, replace the needle guard and label the syringe with strain and date. Repeat the process for any other syringes you have.
If you are making syringes from different prints, use a seperate glass for each strain and steralise the scalpal blade between use. Oven Tek If a glovebox is not available the syringes can be made using the 'oven tek' which involves making the syringes on an oven rack with the oven set on around 100C and working within the oven space.
This is not an ideal method but serves its purpose if money is tight and a glovebox of some description is not available. |
