Air-Cooled vs. Water-Cooled Chillers: Which one is better for your Lab?
By Miriam Carrillo, 23 May 2024
Blog
Sealed Centrifuge Rotors to Help Prevent Laboratory-Acquired Infections
By Kim McDonald, 17 February 2024
Centrifuges are used in nearly every laboratory worldwide to separate serum from plasma in clinical settings, pellet cells for storage, isolate proteins, and purify viral particles. Thus, laboratory centrifuges are one potential source of exposure to infectious material. Because of the high speed at which a centrifuge spins, samples can become aerosolized if the sample tube or vessel is not properly sealed. Additionally, sample vessels that are cracked or not rated to withstand high enough force may fail and leak. Unbalanced rotors may cause...
Ultimate Guide to Homogenizer Selection for Cannabis Applications
By Doran Amos, 17 December 2023
In recent years, the production and consumption of cannabis-derived products for medicinal and health-enhancing purposes has grown rapidly across the US and worldwide. In this article, we detail the key factors to consider when purchasing a homogenizer and summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the most suitable homogenizer types for cannabis applications.
Weighing tables for microbalances and analytical balances
By Kim McDonald, 13 November 2023
Analytical balances and microbalancesRead more ...
Shaking Incubator for Bacterial Growth: What to Know
By Kim McDonald, 13 November 2023
When culturing bacteria in a shaking incubator, several factors must be considered that will impact bacterial growth, including shaking speed, temperature, growth medium, and growth vessels. These will vary depending on your application, time course, bacterial strain, expression vectors, features of your incubator, and other factors. Shaking incubators continuously introduce dissolved oxygen into the culture medium, promoting aerobic bacterial growth. Choosing the proper settings and culture conditions is essential for producing the greatest yield while minimizing cell death and recombination events.
Preventing Contamination in Mammalian Cell Culture
By Kim McDonald, 20 July 2023
Mammalian cell cultures can become contaminated with microbial contaminants (e.g., fungi, bacteria, and yeast) as well as viruses. An estimated 25% of all cell cultures are contaminated with mycoplasma bacterium alone. Contamination can affect cell viability, inhibit normal cellular processes, and lead to inconsistent results and experimental failures. Sources of contamination include working surfaces, reagents, personnel, and instrumentation. Water is excellent at conducting heat and equally great at becoming contaminated. Thus, water baths and CO2Read more ...
What is the difference between a fixed-angle and a swing-out rotor?
By Kim McDonald, 27 June 2023
What is the difference between a fixed-angle and a swing-out rotor? In a swing-out rotor, the buckets swing out horizontally, allowing for horizontal centrifugation and sample separation. Samples within a fixed-angle rotor remain at a fixed angle throughout separation, causing sedimentation to occur at an angle. There are pros and cons to each rotor type and applications best suited for each.
Water bath or bead bath: which one is better?
By Kim McDonald, 27 June 2023
Both water and bead baths are used to warm laboratory reagents, such as media, as well as incubate samples. As the names imply, a water bath is full of water, and a bead bath is filled with thermal metal beads. Water conducts heat evenly, whereas bead baths can cause uneven temperature distribution. When using a bead bath, it is a good idea to use a temperature probe to check for the temperature near your sample or reagent. Water baths are prone to contamination, whereas bead baths, such as those filled with aluminum Read more ...
Best Practices for Maintenance of a Laboratory Oven
By Kim McDonald, 11 June 2023
A laboratory oven is a critical component in various research and testing processes, and it is imperative to keep it in optimal condition to avoid compromising the quality of data produced or the safety of those who operate it. Routine maintenance practices can help extend the lifespan of the oven, prevent breakdowns, and ensure optimal performance. Following best practices for maintaining a laboratory oven will help you keep your oven running smoothly and efficiently while avoiding costly repairs and replacements.
Percoll Gradient Centrifugation: What to consider when isolating cells, subcellular particles, and virus
By Kim McDonald, 22 January 2023
Percoll gradients can be used to isolate specific cells, subcellular particles, and viral particles via centrifugation based on their individual densities. Gradients can be pre-formed before the isopycnic separation of cells at low speeds. However, viruses and subcellular particles generally will not efficiently separate on pre-formed gradients. In this case, in situ gradient preparation is needed where the sample is diluted in the Percoll solution prior to centrifugation; particles are separated simultaneously to gradient formation.
What to Look for in Energy-Efficient Freezers
By Kim McDonald, 25 December 2022
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created specifications for energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers for laboratory use. The goal of this program is to make it easy for consumers to identify appliances that will be environmentally friendly by consuming less energy while also saving energy costs for the user. Most manufacturers that are eligible will include the ENERGY STAR® label, making it an easy way to spot freezers that meet these criteria. You can also search an Read more ...
I have a cold room, why do I need a refrigerated centrifuge?
By Kim McDonald, 05 October 2022
Though precise temperature control may not be required for many applications, some analytes are temperature-sensitive and require stable temperature control. Refrigerated centrifuges counteract the temperature fluctuations that occur during centrifugation, making them suitable for temperature-sensitive analytes.
How to prevent heat build-up during homogenization
By Doran Amos, 16 September 2022
Heat build-up during homogenization can be a significant challenge, especially when working with temperature-sensitive samples. So how can you prevent heat damage to your sample during homogenization? In this article, we provide specific tips on how to deal with sample overheating in four popular types of homogenizer.
Understanding Defrost Cycles on Refrigerators and Freezers
By Doran Amos, 04 July 2022
Defrosting is an essential step in maintaining your laboratory refrigerator or freezer to ensure that it continues to provide adequate and stable cooling for your stored items.
Defrosting offers a number of key benefits:
- It keeps the evaporator coils frost-free, enabling them to cool the interior of the refrigerator or freezer effectively;
- It maintains good airflow in the refrigerator or freezer, so that the air temperature is stable and uniform thr...
How to select the right lab oven
By Doran Amos, 31 March 2022
Confused about which lab oven you should buy? In this comprehensive article, we help you to pick the right one by breaking down the main oven types, their pros and cons, and their typical applications.