How to Order

Visit our online store. 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. 

Generally, 4 weeks notice is required between ordering and shipping. Some cultures are available sooner, or may need longer depending on quantity required and the specific demands of individual strains. Supply of material at shorter notice cannot be guaranteed. When cultures are required for a certain date, please indicate clearly, otherwise cultures will be sent as soon as they are ready.

If cultures arrive in an unsatisfactory condition 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.

Several of the most commonly used media are available to buy via the website: Media Supply. 

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 Service and Facility, we are able to offer a reduced cost of supply to our academic users.

Cultures and Media
For academic and non-profit making organizations: GBP 50.00 per culture or per unit of medium.
For commercial customers: GBP 120.00 per culture or per unit of medium.

Other Services
Sequencing: GBP 600.00 / GBP 1500.00 per strain.
Sequencing 3+ strains: GBP 250.00 / GBP 600.00 per strain.
DNA extract: price on request.
Large volumes of culture: price on request.
or – click for more information.

Postage and Packing
Within the UK: GBP 5.00 (or at cost if higher), sent by First Class post.
Special Delivery (UK next day service) is also available on request for a charge of GBP 9.00 (depending on the size of the order).
Elsewhere: Courier delivery at cost plus GBP 3.00 packing charge.
For orders including pathogens there is a GBP 20.00 packing charge.
Please note that we are required to declare the actual cost of our products on any commercial invoice for international shipments.

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.

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 First Class post or Royal Mail Special Delivery (Next Day).

International deliveries
International shipping is via courier. For most destinations we ship using FedEx or DHL.

Our shipping prices cover the postal/courier cost and packaging. Any import/customs taxes or fees are not covered, these are out of our control and are the responsibility of the customer. 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.

For all destinations outside the UK we provide Commercial Invoices and customs declarations etc. if required. 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.

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.

The commodity code for microalgal cultures is 12122900 (Algae); for protozoan cultures it is 30029050 (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).

Potentially pathogenic cultures

CCAP holds one genus of potentially pathogenic amoebae: Acanthamoeba. 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 FormA 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.