Week 2 Flashcards
What is inventory?
-A critical component of lab management that should be:
-Categorized
-Alphabetized within sections
-Kept records of the last updated inventory
-Indicate items to be reordered depending on need
-Assign the responsibility of the upkeep of the list if not yours
What are some other ways inventory can be kept track of?
-Product number & serial number
-Supplier + manufacturing name
-Price per unit/bag
-Location/storage
-Expiration date
-Lot number
-Date of arrival
What are the requirements for ordering?
-Credit card that you pay with grant funds or re-imbursements
-Purchase order number (PO#) from a purchasing department (purchasing officer)
-Order requisition to be approved by someone with signing authority
How can you use sales representatives to your advantage?
-Ask for help with costs
-Ask for advice on protocols
-Ask for the newest products in your field of research
-Ask for free samples of key items before you purchase them
-Ask to speak with a technical representative for trouble-shooting
Glassware includes
-Beakers
-Flasks
-Graduated cylinders
-Bottles
What should be done with damaged glassware?
-Should be avoided and discarded appropriately because bacteria can grow in the cracks and chips
What must be done to clean glassware
-Must be washed with laboratory grade detergent and rinse in distilled water, and then autoclaved
What is in plasticware?
Buffers, distilled water, reverse osmosis water, depends on rate of purity
What must be considered when buying disposables?
-Need to make sure they’re lab grade and sterile since they’re used every day– don’t want to cut corners and save money on these
What should be considered when doing chemical stock supply?
-Making sure chemicals are alphabetized, and that they haven’t expired.
Some labs use barcodes for each chemical to perform inventory
Before purchasing new equipment what are the most important things to consider?
-Will it be shared between two labs
-Making sure to contact your manufacturer’s sales representative
What are the advantages to renting or leasing equipment?
-Investing a minimum amount, allowing for funds to be used elsewhere
-Upgrade to a newer model, faster
-Consumables, software upgrades can be included in monthly payment
What are the disadvantages to renting or leasing equipment?
-In sample testing, often traceability of the machine is required in record keeping
-If a previously used machine, even with cleaning, foreign contaminants may still be present and off set results (not acceptable for clinical trials etc)
Renting or leasing equipment depends on ___________
Funding which can be:
Academic and industrial
Academic funding
Equipment funding will expire if not used within the term, will need to return fund, therefore purchasing in full is optimal
Industrial
Capital funds will allow for payment plans (long term use)
What is some common equipment?
Vortex, water baths, shakers, electroporator, pH meter, scales, pipets, spectrophotometer, incubators
UV spectrophotometers
-Are used to measure DNA and RNA in water buffer and require quartz cuvettes
Why are quartz cuvettes required?
No refraction, can use either clear or black quartz, but black quartz has better refractive index for reproducibility
Can bacteria and yeast be used in the same incubator?
No they need separate incubators
What does PCR measure?
-Cloning and amplification of DNA, and RNA expression profiling
What does electrophoresis need
-Sample buffer with salt (preservative), glycerol (adds weight), and tracking dye (monitor movement of sample)
-A marker (molecular weight standard)
-Heated samples at 95*C for 5 min
Agarose
- Has a good range of separation
-Range of DNA between 50 kb to 200 bp
-Very rigid and easy to handle
Acrylamide
-Good resolving power
-Range of DNA between 500 bp to 5 bp
-Also great for protein separation
-Gradient gels
Southern blot
DNA on a filter probed with DNA
Northern blot
RNA on a filter probed with DNA or RNA
Western blot
Protein on a filter probed with an antibody
Southwestern blot
DNA on a filter probed with protein
Eastern blot
Protein on filter probed with lipids, aptamers, post trans modification indicators
What is a Gel Doc system?
-a UV transilluminator with EtBr
-For immunoblot imaging
-Better than Xray film as that is outdated and expensive
Why are some things filtered as a sterilization method?
-Filtering used for solutions that cannot be autoclaved such as tissue culture media, vitamins, and proteins
What do autoclaves do?
-Prevent yeast or bacterial growth in buffers/media
-Used for large volumes
-Sterilize glassware for aseptic work
-Never with corrosive chemicals or detergents (ex. SDS makes bubbles)
-Works by using high heat 121*C and pressure
-Requires safety training and cycle will depend on items being sterilized ex. Dry vs wet cycle
-Requires heat resistant gloves
What is the process of centrifugation?
-To separate particles from a solution, centrifuge supplies a driving force (also temperature), rotor determines functionality (sample size, pellet shape, gradient), BALANCE IS KEY
What is the max rpm for microfuges?
13,000 rpm
What is the max rpm for benchtop centrifuges?
14,000 rpm and the rotors are interchangeable
What are large volume centrifuges used for?
For samples that are bigger than 1 Litre
What is the max rpm for ultracentrifuges?
100,000 rpm, they are used for lipid extraction and very fine gradients
What is the brightfield microscope?
-Most common in all labs 10, 40, 100 x
What is the phase contrast microscope?
-No fixing or staining needed to see a sample
What is the fluorescence microscope?
-Label or see specific parts of a cell ex. GFP
What is the electron microscope?
-Transmission and scanning types
What can you do if you need a piece of equipment but don’t have it or can’t afford it?
-Apply for an equipment grant through your institution
-Apply for a government equipment grant
-Ask for a departmental shared piece
-Ask to borrow from another lab
-Try to find a used piece of equipment, re-certified
What is the most important things for a budget set-up?
-List all required reagents
-Include subtotals
What are direct costs?
-Salaries, benefits, equipment, consumable supplies
What are indirect costs?
-Company overhead, administrative, utilities, security, custodial (10-80% funds)
