Lab Manager Magazine^®

Editor's Note

Talking to your staff, your customers, and to upper management is common sense, natural and instinctive, right? Think again.

5 Keys to Effective Communication

Effectively communicating with staff members, customers, and suppliers is a critical skill for laboratory managers.

Ten Tips for Negotiating Successfully in 2013

The ability to negotiate successfully in today’s turbulent business climate can mean the difference between success and failure.

Science Matters: Holding the Line on Good Laboratory Practices

The mistakes we all made coming up in the industry—the “freshman effect”—were almost unavoidable. Checking and rechecking kept us in check, and this was our go-to strategy as we became experts.

Investing to Save : A Simple Tool for Calculating ROI Can Determine Which Investments are Best for Your Lab

Is your laboratory looking for ways to save money? Try spending (investing) some!

Accelerating the Patent Process: New U.S. Patent Offices Create Hubs of Innovation and Economic Activity

Patents are the fuel for American innovation,” said Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank. The overhaul of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) mandated by the September 2011 passage of the America Invents Act is aimed at promoting innovation.

Modeling and Simulating Science: Computation Unravels Old and New Questions in Biology and Chemistry

Scientists use models to unravel how something works. If you’ve ever taken variously sized balls and arranged them as the planets in our solar system, then you’ve made a model.

Buying a LIMS : How a Thorough and Disciplined Approach Can Help Buyers Avoid Unforeseen Costs and Other Surprises

Buying a laboratory information management system (LIMS) is a major undertaking, and it is critical that the system selected fulfils not only all of the laboratory’s current requirements but also allows for future development.

It's all in the Planning: How Smart Lab Design and Layout Ensure Optimal Procedures, Workflow, Cooperation and Productivity

There are varying points of view on the question of the best use of research space. Different stakeholder groups hold differing views, and individuals within these groups will have different sets of priorities. But the same goal is shared by all: arrangement and layout should promote successful scientific research and the well-being of the researchers.

Optimizing Laboratory Operations: Asset Utilization Monitoring Captures the Data Necessary to Improve Instrument Uptime and Lab Productivity

To optimize lab operations, several questions must first be answered. How can you adjust service levels based on usage? How can you trigger preventive actions prior to failure? How effective are you at utilizing your assets?

ASK THE EXPERT: Setting Up a Cell Culture Lab

Dr. Amanda Capes-Davis, an independent cell culture consultant and founding manager of CellBank Australia, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, Ph.D., about the imperative need to establish best practices in a cell culture laboratory. She talks about everything that can be done from the early stages in terms of utilization of lab space to establishment of procedures for minimizing contamination and also planning foremergencies and disaster recovery.

The Right Choice for UV-VIS Spectrophotometers

One of the oldest and most common forms of absorption-based analysis, ultravioletvisible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry continues to evolve.

Product Focus: CO2 Incubators - New Environmental Precision Gives Researchers More Control

To culture cells reproducibly, scientists seek a consistently controlled environment. “At the end of the day, a customer just wants to grow cells,” says Uwe Ross, president at BINDER (Bohemia, NY).

Product Focus: Baths and Chillers - Product and Technology Roundup: Hold the Decibels

Instrument noise, particularly from cooling devices, can take its toll on laboratory workers. “Chillers can be quite noisy,” observes Bob Bausone of PolyScience (Niles, IL).

Product Focus: Non-Gassed Incubators - Advanced Controls Keep the Temperature Accurate Throughout the Box

To grow a culture of bacteria, researchers typically use an incubator. The so-called non-gassed or microbiological incubators come in many styles, and usually provide temperature options of 5 to 70 degrees Celsius, although most researchers grow bacteria at 37 degrees Celsius.

Product Focus: Pipettes - New Designs Reduce Fatigue and Increase Throughput

Few labs these days could survive without pipettes. Many assays require pipetting, and the increasing size of multiwell plates demands more steps than ever.

Product Focus: GCXGC - Systems for Comprehensive 2D Chromatography

Comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GCxGC) is a powerful gas chromatographic technique that uses two columns to achieve separations of complex mixtures that would not be possible with a single column.

Are You in the Market for an Electrophoresis System?

Electrophoresis relies on a basic process — particles moving in an electric field. Known for more than 200 years, this phenomenon still drives fundamental techniques in many labs and its long history plays a role in the widespread use of the technology. Current interest lies in making the technology, faster, more accurate and more sensitive.

Are You in the Market for a Refrigerator or Freezer?

Freezers and refrigerators are an integral part of any laboratory that requires temperature controlled storage. Maintaining samples at an optimal storage temperature is vital for many labs and makes choosing the right freezer or refrigerator a crucial task. Users need to demand accuracy, consistency, capabilities & reliability.

Are You in the Market for a TOC Analyzer?

TOC (total organic carbon) analyzers are a mainstay of environmental and quality control chemistry. TOC, a crucial metric in many processes, may arise from a combination of living or dead organisms or chemical contamination. Its measurement can serve as a surrogate for more difficult measurements or a screen for further analysis.

Are You in the Market for a LIMS?

A laboratory information management system (LIMS) consists of software that serves as the interface to a laboratory’s data, instruments, analyses and reports. A LIMS can help develop a workflow for a new experiment, control the steps of the process as it runs, or integrate a collection of laboratory platforms.

Are You in the Market for an Ultra-Low Freezer?

Low-temperature (or ultra low) laboratory freezers will achieve temperatures of -40°C to -85°C — much lower than their kitchen-based counterparts. When selecting a freezer for your lab, it is important to know what specific storage requirements you’ll need, such as the temperature range or space available.

Perspective On: An Academic Clinical Lab - Quality Assured

Troubleshooting, scheduling, communicating, and consulting are just part of Lab Manager Lisa Wright's many responsibilities.

Too Hot to Handle: A 3-Step Program for Working with Autoclaves

Like the coffee pot used for brewing your favorite morning beverage, an autoclave is such a common and familiar piece of lab equipment that it is easy to overlook the associated hazards. If we do not think about what might go wrong, sooner or later we will get burned (couldn’t resist the bad pun).

Safety Tip: Learning How to Be Safe is an Integral and Important Part of Your Work

For too many years at academic institutions and some companies, health, safety and the environment have been something extra. It’s time that it becomes part of the process. At Dow, we were told that we were being paid to do three things: (1) work safely, (2) conduct active research programs, and (3) publish the reports and patent disclosures resulting from our research. Safety was part of the job—not something extra.

Technology News

UV/Visible Spectrophotometers • Classical-looking UV-Vis spectrophotometers now include enhanced standard features • Certain models now include free DataStream PC control software, free validation software, free single cell Kinetics software and free automatic cell changer software • Each instrument will also be supplied with an appropriate dust cover • A wide range of additional features is also available

How It Works : A Bulk Solvent Delivery System

Problem: Solvents are used in virtually every laboratory to perform routine research procedures as well as product quality control and medical and diagnostic tests. Laboratory staff are responsible for the documentation, staging, storage and transport of solvents, which compromises valuable time spent on research.

How It Works : Temperature Control in Chillers & Baths

Temperature control is a critical aspect of many applications spanning numerous laboratories across the biotech, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors. Chillers and bath circulators are commonly employed to maintain the optimal temperature. The success of your hard work hinges on your temperature control solution.

Just How Important is Calibration? When and Why You Should Calibrate Your Balance

The answer is simple: if you use your balance at all, regular calibration is critical. The question frequently comes up when a balance is initially purchased. A new balance operator’s manual almost always recommends calibration before use.

Determining Antioxidant Potential : Using an Oxygen Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) Assay

The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay is an analytical method to determine the antioxidant potential of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and food ingredients. The ORAC assay relies on the fluorescent probe to monitor antioxidant activity, which can be read in 96-well microplates using a fluorescence-capable reader.

Products in Action : PLC 2020 Compact Liquid Chromatography System

Designed to meet the growing need for personalized solutions, Gilson’s PLC 2020 is one of the only benchtop purification systems on the market capable of performing high pressure reverse phase applications at pressures greater than 500 PSI.

Products in Action : i.C3 User Interface

i.C3 User Interface | Download - Acknowledge - Access Control

Effective Cleaning of Pipettes

Effective Cleaning of Pipettes Chemical, water or other analysis requiring exact measurement and dispensing of liquid reagents relies on the use of pipettes. Some pipettes are disposable, however, reusable glass pipettes are preferred because they are typically of higher quality and are calibrated more exactly. The main disadvantage of using glass pipettes is the difficulty of cleaning them between users.

Products in Action: LabWare, Inc.

Recognized worldwide as the leader in enterprise Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and instrument interfacing software, announces the release of LabWare ELNTM v2.0. The LabWare ELN system is a key component of the company’s formidable Enterprise Laboratory Platform (ELP) solution strategy.