Low sodium isocyanurate concentrations as a substitute to medium autoclaving in plant tissue culture

An optimization for a medium sterilization method, capable of substituting autoclaving, was developed using low concentrations of sodium isocyanurate (ISO) as a medium sterilizer. Sodium isocyanurate was used in it's dichloro form (sodium dichloroisocyanurate) with concentrations on medium ranging from 0.04 to 0.005 g/L. The chosen specimen was Dianthus caryophyllus, placed in Murashige and Skoog media as seeds. Sterilization using sodium isocyanurate surpassed that of medium autoclaving on time spent, resources required and sterilization capability. All successful ISO concentrations, 0.04 g/L to 0.01 g/L, allowed D. caryophyllus sprouts to develop with no signs of phytotoxic effects and with constant growth until they reached their container's maximum capacity. Contamination rates for concentrations 0.04 g/L, 0.02 and 0.01 g/L stayed bellow 5% for the entirety of the experiment. The data presented, along with how this work was conducted, indicate that sodium isocyanurate is capable of substituting media autoclaving for practices with D. caryophyllus seeds and opens a path for further research involving sodium isocyanurate sterilization for other species. Key messageThis protocol is an optimization for an already existing medium sterilization protocol, in plant tissue culture, through chemical compounds. Sodium isocyanurate was capable of sterilizing culture media in varied concentrations while showing no signs of phytotoxicity to Dianthus caryophyllus seeds and subsequent sprouts.