Lab Manager | Run Your Lab Like a Business

Cover Story |  Volume 7 - Issue 10  |  November 2012

Toot Your Own Horn

Aggressive self-promotion might just be the scientific community's saving grace

Sections

Editor's Buzz

Editor's Note : Boasting for Dollars

In many quarters, bragging about oneself or one’s accomplishments is considered bad form. Modesty and humility are the virtues most ascribe to. However, things have changed.

Business Management

Toot Your Own Horn

Toot Your Own Horn

Aggressive Self Promotion Just Might Be the Scientific Community's Saving Grace

Teaming Up

Teaming Up

A Research Partnership Done Right Solves Technical Problems and Grows Business

Risky Business

Managing Export Control Compliance in the Biotechnology Industry

It's the Little Things That Count

Creative ideas to improve morale, enhance productivity, and make your lab more fun!

Making Sense of Data Management in a Digital World

We already are aware of how the science business in general has changed, prompting leading companies to reevaluate the way they operate

Surveys

The Second Annual Laboratory Spending Trends Report

Another Year of Low-Growth Laboratory Product Budgets Anticipated in 2013.

2012 CO2 Incubator Survey Results

Cell culture incubators, or carbon dioxide (CO2) incubators, are designed to mimic a cell’s natural environment with a relative humidity around 95 percent and temperature of 37°C.

Computing and Automation

Five Necessary Elements for Integrating Lab Systems

Where We Are vs. Where We Need to Be

Ask the Expert

The Impact of UHPLC on Efficiency and Outcomes

Steven Wolk, PhD, associate director of analytical chemistry at SomaLogic Inc., discusses the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra high-performance (or pressure) liquid chromatography (UHPLC) technologies for analytical work.

Laboratory Technology

Mass Spectrometry Today

Fast-Growing, Innovative, But Still Somewhat Enigmatic.

Technology News

The latest equipment, instruments and system introductions to the laboratory market.

Lab Health and Safety

Let's Have a Look

Let's Have a Look

Preparing for an Effective Lab Safety Inspection.

Lab Health and Safety Tips

Maintain a Chemical Inventory to Avoid Purchasing Unnecessary Quantities

Maintain a Chemical Inventory to Avoid Purchasing Unnecessary Quantities

One school accumulated 20 five-pound bottles of mercury. Each year they ordered from the same list that they had used the year before! Not a good idea. You need to know what you have, where it’s located, and who’s responsible for it.

Product Focus

GC Columns: The Heart of a GC System

Today, the number of distinct GC column stationary phases has grown

Lab Washers: Advanced Features Make This Technology More Effective and More Green

In general, today's scientists are looking for more environmentally-friendly features

Lab Product

The Right Choice for Refrigerators & Freezers

Refrigerators and freezers can be found in a wide variety of labs serving a wide variety of industries. That means that these instruments must meet many different requirements.

Research-Specific Labs

Perspective On: A Cell Culture Lab

Perspective On: A Cell Culture Lab

Documentation, Documentation, Documentation: Keeping a Record of Everything is Critical to this Small but Mighty Lab

How it Works

How an HPLC/UHPLC Column Protection System Works

Problem: In most UHPLC/ HPLC applications, the buildup of sample and mobile phase contaminants at the head of the chromatography column can cause detrimental effects.

How Absolute Quantification with Droplet Digital PCR Works

How Absolute Quantification with Droplet Digital PCR Works

Basic research and clinical research labs have long relied on real-time PCR (qPCR) for its speed, sensitivity, specificity and ease-of-use. Common applications include gene expression analysis, mutation detection and identification of copy number variation to better understand inherited disorders, cancer and infectious disease.

How hTERT-Immortalized Cell Lines Work

Choosing an in vitro model system that faithfully represents the natural physiology of the cell being studied is fundamental to understanding its in vivo function. Cultures of primary cell isolates retain their physiology and karyotype after isolation, but cultures may be difficult to prepare and are susceptible to contamination.

Products in Action

Innovation, Flexibility and Convenience with the NEW Thermo Scientific Barnstead GenPure xCAD Water Purification System

The Thermo Scientific Barnstead water purification portfolio includes a complete line of Type 1 systems to meet all of your ultrapure water needs.

Improving Performance and Sensitivity of LC/MS Instruments Using Optimized LC/MS Solvents

Increasing the sensitivity and resolution of LC/MS instruments has been an ongoing focus for instrument manufacturers. As a result of this increased sensitivity of today’s analytical instrumentation, the choice of high purity solvents can greatly influence the test results that are achieved.

Welcome to a Comfortable Clean Bench

The AniGARD e3 animal transfer station from The Baker Company combines improved containment and enhanced ergonomics with lower energy requirements to provide you with unrivaled performance and protection.

The 2010 Geno/Grinder®

The 2010 Geno/Grinder® offers analysts a versatile high-throughput tissue homogenizer for plant or animal tissue homogenization. The patented design with a true linear grinding motion provides the most efficient bead milling mechanism for tissue homogenization and cell lysis for extraction of DNA, RNA, proteins or enzymes.

New! Eppendorf Xplorer plus – The Intelligent Pipette

New Xplorer plus electronic pipettes were specially designed to optimally support you and your work. With a new intuitive operating concept and additional modes, it sets new standards for simplicity, precision and reproducibility.

Optimum FTIR Precision, Sensitivity, and Reliability at an Exceptional Price

From research to routine tasks, the IRAffinity-1 FTIR is ideal for high-precision infrared analysis to confirm, identify and detect foreign matter in raw materials, medical products, cosmetics, packages and coatings, among other fields.

White Papers and Application Notes

Economizing on Viscosity Testing

Rotational viscometers are the most widely used tool in today's QC labs for making viscosity measurements.  Many small changes, like reduction in sample size and shortening the viscosity test time, can lead to significant increase in QC lab productivity.

The Analysis of 1,4-Dioxane for EPA Method 522 and UCMR 3

This Application Note will demonstrate the extraction of 1,4-Dioxane from an aqueous matrix using Option 1 of EPA Method 522 for 500 mL initial volume sample. It will make use of the SmartPrep Cartridge Extraction System to produce a valid Initial Demonstration of Precision (IDP) and Initial Demonstration of Accuracy (IDA).

Concentration of Solutes: Options for the Removal of Solvents from Samples

Solvent removal from solutions is commonly performed in laboratory and production processes. There are a number of different methods that can be used for solvent removal, including evaporation, vacuum concentration, lyophilization, reverse extraction, solute precipitation, and dialysis (solvent exchange).

Determination of Mercury in Nutraceutical Samples Using a Direct Mercury Analyzer

With the expansion of the global nutraceutical market, the spotlight on the analysis of its raw materials is ever increasing. Testing of nutraceutical products for heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury has gained utmost importance. Extremely low levels of these heavy metals like mercury, in nutraceuticals make its analysis challenging.

Exhausting of a Class II, Type A2 Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC)

While searching for that extra degree of safety in your laboratory or trying to remove fumes/gases from the laboratory environment NuAire has the proper canopy connections to exhaust your Class II, Type A2 Biological Safety Cabinet.

Measurement of Gold Nanoparticle Size and Concentration by Spectrophotometry

Although gold nanoparticle production can be controlled to yield specific size ranges, both the concentration and size of nanoparticles must be checked following production. UV-Vis spectrophotometry is an established QC method for this; however cuvette spectrophotometers often require dilution of the nanoparticle solution before measuring, and volumes up to 3 mL.