Homogenization seeks to create samples in which analytes of interest are dispersed uniformly throughout. Numerous technologies can achieve this, including pressure, mechanical (rotorstator or blade-type), and bead-beating.

Microwave digestion is the preparation method of choice for analyzing metals in complex mixtures. Food and environmental industries favor this technique, which is also applicable to testing materials, soil, agricultural waste products, engine oils, and biological samples.

Milling and grinding are ancient techniques that are working their way into high-tech markets.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) incubators are mainstays in traditional biology labs engaging in cell or tissue culture. Incubators provide a stable environment designed to mimic a cell’s natural environment: pH of 7.2 to 7.5, temperature of 37°C, and a relative humidity of about 95 percent.

Manufacturers of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems continue to innovate, while simultaneously providing upgrade paths for older instruments.

With most manufacturers providing solid biological safety cabinets (BSCs) with more or less standard features, total cost of ownership has become a hot-button issue with purchasers.

Like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, laboratory water purification systems get no respect. Lab workers use them every day, but few realize— beyond opening the spigot—how they operate.

Once the domain of do-it-yourself Ph.D. scientists who spent years studying its intricacies, mass spectrometry (MS) is continuing to go “down market,” says Alessandro Baldi, Ph.D., business manager for MS at PerkinElmer (Waltham, MA).

New materials and ergonomics contribute to ease of operation

Laboratory information management systems (LIMSs) are software packages that connect instruments, other software and sample management to human operators and other data systems, including electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs).

Fume hoods are notorious for consuming expensive resources, particularly electricity and conditioned air that is vented to the environment along with volatile chemicals and other toxins.

In response to reduced reliance on core lab services, manufacturers of flow cytometers have been busily upgrading instrument capabilities for expert and casual users.

Refractometers are instruments that quantify and identify chemicals and materials based on their refractive index (RI).

Laboratories have numerous weighing options, including sliding-scale mechanical balances, top loaders, and analytical balances.

Most laboratory workers view ovens almost as utilities, using them principally for drying glassware and heatresistant equipment, regenerating desiccants and catalysts, gently heating samples (and sometimes whole experiments), and curing or preparing materials and composites.