See also our Terms & Conditions of Culture Supply.

Our web catalogue holds both available strains and archived strains.

Available cultures

Most of our strains are subcultured to order and most need 3-4 weeks to grow before being despatched, this can vary depending on quantity required and the specific demands of particular strains. Supply of material at shorter notice cannot be guaranteed.

Non-polar diatoms and dinoflagellates usually need around 2 weeks. Some strains are available the week following receipt of an order (depending on demand), these include our Aquaculture strains (see here for a list) and the following commonly ordered strains:

Strains that are cryopreserved, many of our small seaweeds (e.g. Ectocarpus) and some other slow growing cultures can take longer than 4 weeks, conversely strains can sometimes be ready sooner than the standard 3-4 weeks – please contact us with details of the genera/species you are interested in and we can advise. Also please add a coment or email us if cultures are required for a specific date, otherwise cultures are sent as soon as they are ready.

Archived strains

We display archived strains as the data may be of interest, particularly for strains that had been in the Collection for many years. Strains are archived for several reasons, this will be noted in the strain data:

  • the strain has died
  • contamination or poor condition – pending reisolation or recovery
  • uncertainty over strain identity – pending sequencing or further investigation
  • new strains are archived until they are growing well in the Collection, or by request of the depositor (for up to a year post-deposit)
Media

Media orders are prepared to order, the time needed to prepare media depends on the availability of our media technician. Most orders can be ready within 1-2 weeks of ordering. Contact us if you have particular requirements.

 

How to Order

Visit our online store. 

To find a strain search and filter results using the filter options – strains can be filtered by axenicity status, taxonomy, toxin production, environment, collection location and more.

Alternatively, go directly to a particular strain use the following link and add the strain number to the end (using a hyphen “-” rather than a slash “/” within the strain number):

https://www.ccap.ac.uk/catalogue/strain-

e.g. https://www.ccap.ac.uk/catalogue/strain-211-11B

Payment can be made immediately by credit card (via PayPal – no account required), or you can download an invoice to pay offline by bank transfer.

Alternatively, send us a Purchase Order, made out to SAMS Limited, by email or post. If we require payment in advance we will send a proforma invoice, or a PayPal invoice if you prefer payment by credit card.

All payments to be made to SAMS Limited.

Culture Supply

Algae: CCAP normally supplies 2 x 10 ml tubes of culture in liquid medium, or 1  agar slope, depending on the method of maintenance of the strain. If you require a culture specifically in liquid or on agar, please make a note on the order form, or contact us, and where possible we will comply.
Protozoa: either 1 x agar plate, 1 x tube, or 1 x tissue culture flask will be sent, depending on the strain.
Aquaculture strains: CCAP normally supplies 1 x 50 ml culture in liquid medium. See a list of our Aquaculture strains here: Algae for Aquaculture.
School Algal Culture Kit: the kit can usually be despatched within a week of ordering, however we recommend ordering  at least three weeks before required as the cultures will need a couple of weeks to grow once they have been received and subcultured. 

Strain maintenance sheets are sent out with the order confirmation email, note that we send to the email contact on the order form which may not be the end user. If these sheets are not received or you would like copies, please contact us, we are also aiming to have a link to the relevant strain maintenance sheet within the strain data of each strain in our online catalogue.

It is not unusual for a proportion of cells not to survive transit, particularly for overseas deliveries and during warm conditions (we enclose cool packs where particularly hot conditions are forecast), however the goal is for some part of the culture to arrive in viable condition. With care, subculturing into fresh medium, and time to recover, most strains should revive and grow into healthy cultures.

If cultures arrive dead they will normally be replaced if we are notified within 14 days of despatch, or on receipt of the feedback form. We may need to charge for the shipping of resupplied strains. CCAP takes all necessary precautions to enable survival of cultures whilst in transit, however we cannot guarantee the viability of cultures upon receipt.

Media Supply

Download our Media Factsheet, this is also emailed along with the order confirmation of orders containing media.

Several of the most commonly used media are available to buy via our online catalogue. 

The price is 50.00GBP / 120.00GBP (Academic or non-profit / Commercial) per unit – one unit of a medium comprises non-sterile stocks sufficient to make 5 litres of final medium, or 1 litre of sterile premade medium. Concentrated stocks can usually be despatched within a week of ordering, premade medium may need an additional week.

Other media may be available depending on stock levels – email us at ccap@sams.ac.uk to enquire. Please also contact us if you are looking for an unusual medium, individual components e.g. vitamin stock, a modified medium or large volumes – we are happy to help when we can.

We recommend that non-sterile stock solutions are kept in a cool dark place or refrigerated, expiry dates are given with the order. Once the media has been made up and sterilised, store in the fridge.

Freshwater Media
Freshwater media are made up using deionised or distilled water. If this is not available, bottled mineral water should be fine to use, but don’t use tap water.

Marine Media
Marine media are made up using filtered natural seawater or artificial seawater. We collect seawater from open waters well offshore, and then filter it to remove larger particles and most planktonic organisms using a glass microfibre filter (we use MF200). Artificial seawater is made using sea or ocean salts from aquarium stockists. Please note that “Aquarium Salt” is not suitable as this is usually only NaCl.

Sterilising
Media should be sterilised by autoclaving at 15 psi for 15 minutes, for example. If a media contains vitamins, these are usually added after autoclaving, by filter sterilising (using a filter syringe). If an autoclave is not available, media can be sterilised using a pressure cooker.

Prices

Note that, as CCAP is funded as a NERC LRI, we are able to offer a reduced cost of supply to our academic users. In addition we can offer starter cultures and basic media at cost price for NERC funded research or studentships. Contact us at ccap@sams.ac.uk.

Cultures

For academic and non-profit making organisations: GBP 75 per starter culture.
For commercial customers: GBP 150 per starter culture.

We can supply larger volumes of cultures, contact us for information. These prices are a guide – organisms with complex growth requirements may cost more.
500ml – 1L culture: academic GBP 200 / commercial GBP 400
1L-10L culture: academic GBP 250 / commercial GBP 500

Media

Prices vary depending on the specific media and the supply format:

Media not containing soil extract:
Stocks – academic GBP 65 / commercial GBP 130
1L premade – academic GBP 85 / commercial GBP 170

ASW, 2ASW, MASM, ASW:BG (media containing marine soil extract):
Stocks – not available
1L premade – academic 115 / commercial GBP 230

JM:SE (media containing freshwater soil extract):
Stocks – not available
1L premade – academic GBP 175 / commercial GBP 350

Other Services

Note that the prices below are a guide, depending on the type of organism we may need to use different primers or techniques. Please contact us for a quote.

Barcode/single gene sequencing: price on request. 
We use general eukaryotic primers, samples must be unialgal and free from eukaryote contaminants. We cannot guarantee ID to species level.

DNA extract for barcoding/single gene sequencing: price on request.

DNA extract for Genome sequencing: price on request.

Microscopic Identification: GBP 250 / GBP 500 to include a short report. This price is for one sample, for additional samples please contact us.

Large volumes of culture (>10L): we can grow up and harvest cultures of up to a few hundred litres via our ARIES facility, contact us for information.

Analysis: see ARIES.

Strain Deposits: see Strain Deposits

Morphometric analysis: price on request.

Postage and Packing

Within the UK: GBP 10 (minimum, depending on the size of the order), sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery (next day service). We no longer ship by Royal Mail 1st Class for the majority of orders due to the slowing of the service and lack of tracking.

Elsewhere: Courier delivery at cost plus packaging. (usually DHL as they give the quickest service from our area, we can ship by FedEx if requested however shipments tend to take an additional day).

For orders including pathogens there is a GBP 20 packing charge.
If using the customer’s DHL or FedEx account for shipping there is a GBP 10 administration charge.

Phytosanitary Certificate

We can apply for a Phytosanitary Certificate for any algal strain from the Scottish Government. There is a set fee schedule for these:

For orders of value GBP 250 or less:  GBP 40
For orders of value over GBP 250:  GBP 70

Once we have applied for a Phytosanitary Certificate the fee is non-refundable if the order is cancelled.

For more information please see: The Plant Health (Export Certification) (Scotland) Order 2018. Our cultures fall under Column 1 No. 4 of the table of fees, as “other plants”.

Retail Tax (VAT)

Within the UK: VAT at 20.0% is added on the whole order.
Elsewhere: No VAT

Please note that shipments outside the UK may be subject to tariffs and import VAT charges. Shipments to the EU are exempt from tariffs due to preferential origin rules, but will be subject to VAT which will be collected by the courier (incoterm DAP).

We are able to ship DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) within the EU, contact us for a quote.

If you would like us to send you an exact quotation, please contact us. Please include the following information: strain names/numbers and quantities, as well as noting if the purchase is Academic/Commercial and the country the items will be delivered to.

Shipping

UK deliveries
All deliveries within the UK are by Royal Mail Special Delivery (Next Day) as standard.

International deliveries
International shipping is via courier, usually DHL as they give the quickest service from our area, we can ship with FedEx if requested however shipments tend to take an additional day.

Our shipping prices cover the postal/courier cost and packaging. Any import/customs taxes or fees are not covered, these are the responsibility of the importer. For EU orders there are no tariffs as our products are of wholly UK origin, however import VAT will be payable and would normally be collected by the courier.

We can ship using the customer’s FedEx or DHL account, we charge a 10.00GBP admin fee in these cases. Note that the account needs to be an import account, and for DHL, authorisation is required via the DHL account manager.

For all destinations outside the UK we provide a Commercial Invoice. Please note that we are required to declare the full cost of our products on any commercial invoice. It is the customer’s responsibility to check if any additional documentation is required – e.g. import permit – and if so to provide us with copies to attach to the parcel.

Customs clearance is largely out of our control, we recommend monitoring the progress of your shipment and contacting the courier locally if there are any delays or information from the importer is requested. If there is anything we can help with please contact us.

For shipment to some countries it may be required to send a  Phytosanitary Certificate with the cultures, please contact us if you believe this is necessary, there is a fee for obtaining a Phytosanitary Certificate – see the Prices tab on this page.

The commodity code for microalgal cultures is 12122900 (Algae); for protozoan cultures it is 30024900 (Microorganisms).
The commodity code for media is 38210000 (Prepared culture media for the development or maintenance of micro-organisms (inc. viruses and the like) or of plant, human or animal cells).

Toxic strains

CCAP holds a few strains, mostly cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, that have tested positive for various toxins. If we receive an order for any of these strains we will send you a copy of Form T which must be completed by the person who will receive and handle the strain.  CCAP cannot release the culture until Form T has been received.

Potentially pathogenic cultures

CCAP holds two genera of potentially pathogenic amoebae: Acanthamoeba and Sappinia. Note that CCAP can provide pathogenic strains for diagnostic or research purposes only.

When ordering any strain listed in the strain data as PATHOGEN or POTENTIAL PATHOGEN you are required to submit with your order a copy of Form A which has been fully completed by the person who will receive and handle the strain (the Responsible Person – see below). CCAP cannot release the culture until Form A has been received.

The shipment of these cultures is subject to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, specifically UN3373 Biological Specimens Category B. A Dangerous Goods Declaration is not required. We use specialist packaging and can only ship these cultures internationally via courier.

Before ordering, you must contact your local authorities to check whether import restrictions are imposed on these cultures. If special regulations apply in your country, you must obtain any required documentation (eg import permit) and send it to CCAP with your order, so that we can send it with the package.

Acanthamoeba cannot be ordered via our online order form. To order, send us your purchase order by email or post. Please specify the week in which you would like to receive the cultures. We will confirm the delivery date.

Postage & Packing for Pathogens:
Within the UK – 20.00GBP, sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery (next day)
Elsewhere – 20.00GBP packing & handling is charged by CCAP, in addition to the delivery cost. Cultures sent by courier.

Obligations of the Responsible Person:
You should only complete Form A if you are fully competent to handle the strain(s) being ordered.
Your name and telephone number will be quoted on the outside of the package. You must be available at the quoted telephone number while the package is in transit, in case the carrier needs to contact you for advice.
You must be available to receive the package on the proposed delivery date, and should alert any other staff as necessary (e.g. Reception, Stores).

A Cautionary Note to Alert the User of Potential Risk:
All known and potential pathogenic strains held by CCAP belong to the genus Acanthamoeba. Strains of any other genus which are designated by CCAP as pathogenic or possibly pathogenic are so listed because they are maintained at CCAP with Acanthamoeba sp. in co-culture.
Acanthamoeba is one of the most common genera of free-living amoebae. It is common in freshwater and soil and may also be isolated from seawater. However, some strains of this genus have been implicated in or are suspected of pathogenicity to man. The following strains have been cleared of pathogenicity to laboratory mice by intranasal instillation or by intracerebral inoculation, or both: CCAP 1501/1A (from which CCAP 1501/1B is derived); CCAP 1501/2A; CCAP 1501/3A; CCAP 1534/1; CCAP 1534/3; CCAP 1547/1.
However these tests do not demonstrate that the strains mentioned cannot be pathogens to man by other routes of infection, e.g. by invasion of the cornea. Due to the universally-acknowledged difficulty in defining pathogenicity in Acanthamoeba species, and in defining the species themselves, we take the safe option of treating all Acanthamoeba strains as potential pathogens.
Care is therefore recommended in handling all strains of Acanthamoeba.

Further Information:
Details of appropriate safe handling procedures can be found in “Categorisation of biological agents according to hazard and categories of containment” Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, HMSO, London, 1995.