Micro-CO2-incubator for use on a microscope.

A simple micro-CO2-incubator designed for use on the stage of an inverted microscope is described. This micro-incubator is easy to use, offers a handy tool for the culture of cells under the microscope and its performance compares well with that of a conventional CO2-incubator. A standard disposable culture dish can be placed in the micro-incubator. The culture medium is covered by a gas-permeable layer of mineral oil, this protects the culture from the environment without affecting the culture conditions and allows easy cell manipulation under microscopical control.