Development of a portable plant tissue culture box: an eco-friendly solution for tissue culture laboratories

Plant tissue culture (PTC) traditionally requires a specialized culture room with racks, controlled temperature, and regulated light and dark cycles to support in vitro plant growth. Establishing and maintaining such a facility is expensive and demands skilled personnel. To address these challenges, we have developed a portable PTC box that provides an artificially controlled environment within a compact chamber. This system maintains a temperature range of 20-30 °C and can simulate a cool environment suitable for plant in vitro culture. Its simple infrastructure and eco-friendly design make it an accessible alternative to conventional culture rooms. The portable PTC box eliminates the need for dedicated laboratory space and can be easily adapted to specific requirements. Unlike traditional air-conditioning systems that rely on harmful gases such as carbon monoxide or chlorofluorocarbons, this device offers an eco-friendly cooling mode. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide efficient illumination with minimal energy consumption while maintaining the required light and dark cycles. Preliminary evaluations indicate that plantlets grown in this box exhibit chlorophyll content, fresh weight, dry weight, moisture content, and molecular levels comparable to those grown in standard in vitro culture laboratories. This innovation demonstrates a sustainable, cost-effective, and portable solution for PTC, making it suitable for small laboratories, educational institutions, and field applications. The portable box has significant potential to expand access to PTC techniques while reducing environmental impact and operational costs.