Discarding your contaminated cell cultures may seem like an obvious response to mycoplasma contamination. However, if you are using a culture that you can no longer obtain, or that is particularly valuable, it could be worth trying to eliminate the contamination. Keep in mind that treatment to get rid of Mycoplasma can take weeks, if not longer.
Elimination of mycoplasma contamination can be carried out by using specially formulated reagents, such as MycoZapTM Mycoplasma Elimination Reagent. This tool combines antibiotic and antimetabolic agents to eliminate detectable mycoplasma contamination in as little as four days. It has been optimized to clear the contamination with minimal effects to your cell culture. More details on the elimination of Mycoplasma species can be found in the next section.