Problem: At this very moment across the United States, thousands of digital eyes watch over laboratory equipment. It’s nothing scary; it’s the way we protect fragile samples from being damaged or destroyed. From facilities stocked with vaccines for the flu season ahead, to embryos frozen for future fertility treatments, life and livelihoods are literally on the line. For this reason, laboratories use continuous monitoring systems to closely watch over the environment of their specimens during experimental, growth and storage phases.

Protecting your life’s work with a proper monitoring system has become increasingly important in research. A study conducted by Stanford University revealed that more than $2 billion worth of samples were stored within their freezers. Furthermore, many biorepositories and biobanks have hundreds of freezers storing priceless samples. 

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.

Standard refrigerators should not be used for storage of flammable or reactive chemicals.

If the voluminous patent filings for new compressors, refrigerants, insulation, and power management are any indication, refrigeration technology is one of the most-researched engineering topics affecting lab operations.

Get fun facts about laboratory cold storage, a list of questions to ask when buying lab fridges or freezers, the most recent cold storage product releases, and an updated cold storage product manufacturer's list in this section.

Understanding “How It’s Made Matters” was the tenet around which the Helmer Scientific Ultra-Low Freezer was designed and developed.  Care was taken to focus on each aspect of the product to ensure that every component works together to create an optimized system that instills confidence in the user. 

Prohibiting the storage of food in chemical refrigerators is another one of the basic rules of good practice.

Freezers and refrigerators are an integral part of any laboratory that requires temperature controlled storage.

Problem: For a lab manager, these scenarios are all too familiar:

• A medical research lab has a -20°C freezer where the door is frequently left ajar and there is no door alarm. 
• In an academic biology lab, a -20°C freezer is accessed on average 20 times an hour and also has a -80°C freezer that warms to -55°C routinely due to new lab students and sustained door openings, thinking “hmmm, what did I come here for again?”
• As a lab manager, you receive a phone call at 3 a.m. saying a freezer has alarmed which forces you to go into the lab in the middle of the night.

Micronic has introduced a unique post-analytical capping solution for sample collection tubes containing blood or urine that require secure storage for several days in case additional tests need to be done.

Freezers and refrigerators are an integral part of any laboratory that requires temperature controlled storage.