Clinical laboratories have among the most stringent requirements for purity of input materials (reagents, solvents, assay kits, gases, etc.). Yet the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), officially promulgated in 1992, leave to clinical and diagnostic laboratory managers the task of assuring the quality and performance of chemicals and gases used to calibrate instruments and conduct general lab operations.

One of the primary safety devices in laboratories where chemicals are used is the laboratory fume hood. It allows a researcher to work with—but not be exposed to— materials that create toxic fumes or particles when it is properly installed and maintained.

The concept of lab automation sounds almost magical, as if a sophisticated machine here or there makes a lab run by itself. Indeed, automation can improve the efficiency of a lab and more, but figuring out the best “here” or “there” creates the challenge.

Malvern Instruments has released new guidance on using automated image analysis to detect and quantify agglomerates. The ability of uncontrolled agglomeration to substantially impact the performance and value of powder products makes efficient agglomerate detection vital across a number of industries.

Choosing the right lab washer depends entirely on what needs to be cleaned and why. Both the labware and the washer features come into play, and these change with advances in technology.

Multichannel pipettes are invaluable when working with multiwell plates. However, prolonged and repetitive pipetting sessions bear the risk of strain and fatigue, often resulting in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and less reproducible results.

SLAS2015 is fast-approaching, taking place February 7-11 in Washington, DC.

Key laboratories worldwide contribute to collaboration.

This webinar will focus on proper placement and other design considerations when installing chemical fume hoods. The presentation will touch on the design differences of major types of chemical fume hoods and briefly discuss their features and functions.

Water is the most commonly used laboratory reagent; however, the importance of water quality is often overlooked. Because impurities can be a critical factor in many research experiments, water purity ranks high in importance. There are several types of impurities and contaminants in water such as particulates, organics, inorganics, microorganisms and pyrogens that can adversely affect results. 

Achieving water of a high quality requires the careful use of purification technologies and a method for accurately measuring and monitoring contaminants.

Laboratories use large volumes of water to fuel the vast majority of daily research, analysis, and processing applications—from autoclave feeds and buffer preparation to molecular biology, analytical analyses, and cell culture work.

Every year, we see research facilities moving toward more automation, and recent issues of Lab Manager highlight some of the newest equipment on the market. Many laboratory tasks are labor-intensive and the sheer number of tasks performed, such as washing and sterilizing containers and installing and disposing samples and wastes, are becoming too time-consuming. Thus, complex equipment, such as sonicators, washers, autoclaves, and autosamplers, is becoming a necessity and is much more prevalent.