Lately I have seen lots of talk about filtering but one thing I have not seen is discussion of the use of a still air box to reduce chance of contamination during the process. In many discussions and videos they talk about wiping down the area and wearing gloves etc. The reality is the most likely source of contamination is the air while the needle is exposed and going into the vial assuming you follow good technique and don't touch dirty to clean.
Ideally we would work in a laminar flow hood. These can be made or procured for a few hundred $ to couple grand. However we can greatly reduce the likely hood of contamination by using a simple still air box ~$20 to make. Start with a clean room and then setup your still air box. Sanitize your work area and supplies inside the box and then do the reconstitution and filtering inside. The air inside the box has minimal air movement so the chance of contamination is greatly reduced.
This is all standard procedure in the world of mycology. There are lots of resources on contamination reduction strategies in that world. I highly recommend taking the time to google this and watching some videos.
Is it necessary? probably not if you stay within 28 days per vial and your RS is not immune compromised. It all comes down to your risk tolerances. As for me I use my homemade hood in my easy clean closet that I've lined with smooth FRP panels and stainless work table but I have this for my mycology hobby. If I was going to use a vial on my RS for > 28 days I would be using every tool at my disposal to reduce the chance of contamination during the reconstitution process and at each syringe draw but that is my risk tolerance. I bring it up as harm reduction has been a hot topic of late and given all the new researchers I felt it is a relevant topic.
Ideally we would work in a laminar flow hood. These can be made or procured for a few hundred $ to couple grand. However we can greatly reduce the likely hood of contamination by using a simple still air box ~$20 to make. Start with a clean room and then setup your still air box. Sanitize your work area and supplies inside the box and then do the reconstitution and filtering inside. The air inside the box has minimal air movement so the chance of contamination is greatly reduced.
This is all standard procedure in the world of mycology. There are lots of resources on contamination reduction strategies in that world. I highly recommend taking the time to google this and watching some videos.
Is it necessary? probably not if you stay within 28 days per vial and your RS is not immune compromised. It all comes down to your risk tolerances. As for me I use my homemade hood in my easy clean closet that I've lined with smooth FRP panels and stainless work table but I have this for my mycology hobby. If I was going to use a vial on my RS for > 28 days I would be using every tool at my disposal to reduce the chance of contamination during the reconstitution process and at each syringe draw but that is my risk tolerance. I bring it up as harm reduction has been a hot topic of late and given all the new researchers I felt it is a relevant topic.
I used to work in a lab where you always handled vials under a hood. It was so strange not having that glass in front of my face. I always shut down my air system at home when I recon. I also use cavi wipes on my counter then use sterile technique to put a surgical drape over my counter to create a "sterile field". And I make sure I'm home alone so I'm not distracted or interrupted by hubby or our twin velociraptors (19 months old). 
