Selecting the right equipment for your laboratory can be challenging with the availability of many new types of equipment. Know the essential equipment for your lab.
A laboratory needs many types of essential equipment without which it cannot run. But selecting the proper set of equipment for your laboratory can be challenging.
Every year you can get to see new and improved medical devices flooding the market. But, what brings in confusion for you is figuring out which of the latest equipment is practical and junk.
But there is some equipment that all labs need. So, we have curated a list of essential equipment for your lab:
Medical Refrigerator
You need to prevent stuff, such as samples and vaccines, from getting damaged in your laboratory. Therefore, it becomes necessary for you to store such items in the right conditions to preserve their effectiveness. If you do not store them in the right temperature environment, they can either get compromised or damaged. In addition, living organisms in vaccines will degrade at the wrong temperature, increasing the risk of bacterial contamination. Therefore, you need to invest in a medical refrigerator to keep items at the correct temperature. It will also help if you choose a medical refrigerator with separate compartments to prevent cross-contamination with samples. At the same time, you should adhere to strict regulations and guidelines for the proper storage of every item in your lab. It will ensure the longevity and security of various stored samples. If you store delicate and highly temperature-sensitive items, like COVID19 vaccines, invest in an ultracold freezer.
Microscopes
The capabilities of a microscope are known to you. It enables you to see things, such as microorganisms you cannot see with your naked eye. Your lab needs microscopes of different capabilities for your technicians to see samples and examine them in detail. Many kinds of microscopes exist to help technicians in diagnosis and research.
Autoclaves
The autoclave is another essential item for your laboratory. It is a pressure chamber that sterilizes glassware, instruments, tools, and waste. It helps avoid contamination in experiments to ensure the safety of all the people working in the lab. Autoclaves also eliminate infectious materials in your lab. You should sterilize items like petri dishes, pipettes, or gloves before they leave the lab. If you do not sterilize them, it will be like sending infectious materials out into the world. And it is a fast way to spread disease. It is where autoclaves play an important role.
Hotplates
The hot plate is an essential item for your lab. It is used for heating samples. The peculiarity of a hotplate is that it can heat samples without using a spark or open flame. If your lab has very volatile chemicals and gases that can explode if come into contact with a spark. It would help if you had a hotplate to heat such items. Many hotplates come with digital displays to enable technicians to monitor the temperatures and control them better.
A Water Source
Every lab needs water, which enables the execution of many lab functions. In a lab, you can get water in your lab through a sink and faucet. You need water to freeze, wash, and dilute, among other things. Ensure that purifiers are attached to the sink to remove any impurities in the water, which also promotes desired chemical reactions. Also, water baths and incubators are important tools in the lab setting. Apart from the lab functions, you need water to clean tools, tables, and instruments in the lab. You should keep your lab clean to reduce the risks of cross-contamination.
Receptacles and Glassware
Your lab technicians need glassware to conduct experiments and tests. Glasswares serve the purpose of holding liquid samples, tissues, and cultures. Likewise, receptacles, such as test tubes, petri dishes, beakers, and flasks, are essential for your lab. Your technicians cannot do much of their work without them. Receptacles and glasswares also help keep your lab samples organized to prevent mixing or contaminating them. You can write on glasswares or put labels on them. Misidentification can lead to dangerous risks.
Incubators
You need incubators to work with cell and tissue cultures. Incubators provide a controlled and contamination-free environment. Incubators help regulate humidity, temperature, and carbon dioxide, allowing technicians to adjust the environment as per their needs. For example, a microbiological incubator helps to grow and store bacteria cultures. Thus, incubators reduce the risk of contamination. In addition, your technicians must maintain certain temperatures and humidity levels because bacteria cultures require specific environments to grow. As such, they need incubators.
Personal Protective Equipment
In your lab, experiments involving hazardous chemicals can pose health risks for your technicians. Therefore, you should provide them with personal protective equipment (PPE), without which your technicians can contract infectious and fatal diseases while working with dangerous chemicals. You should choose PPE kits that suit the needs of your technicians. Many PPE kits are available--respiratory protection, face masks, gloves, safety glasses, lab coats, and emergency eyewash stations.
Conclusion
You will get to see many types of new equipment for laboratories, but not all are worth buying. Instead, invest in equipment that gives value to your lab. We believe that this article will help you to purchase the essential equipment for your lab.
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