Results of our first Lab Automation Survey reveal both pros and cons of automating lab processes

Read the fascinating results of Lab Manager's survey on UV-Vis spectrophotometers.

Perhaps the most buzz-worthy technology in life sciences, next-generation sequencing continues to undergo rapid changes. With vendors updating their portfolios with new instruments annually, the market remains highly competitive and dynamic.

The most commonly used piece of laboratory equipment in any laboratory setting is the pipette, which has a long history of use. Read on to see the results of the Lab Manager pipettes survey!

As a result of automation in the pharmaceutical industry, large compound libraries for future analysis and screening for potential drug candidates are routinely created. Alongside an increase in chemical compound samples, the number of biological sam

In both industrial and academic labs, researchers are actively increasing the number of automated applications and tasks in order to improve performance and productivity while reducing costs and streamlining research. These changes include automating

In recent years, new research insights and breakthroughs have created demand for studies based on larger numbers of human samples. Facilities including hospitals, private research facilities, and huge government-owned biobanks, biorepositories of pat

The primary goal of any laboratory is to collect and analyze data, and it is rare for many samples to be ready for analysis the moment they enter the lab. Samples may need cleanup or purification prior to downstream analysis.

The motivation to maximize laboratory automation is as powerful as it is simple—laboratories must produce more high quality data—faster and cheaper. Today, most envision high throughput (HTP) automation as a robotically-driven integration

Microplate-based multiplex assays, where microspheres are used as solid support matrices, provide simultaneous analyte analysis per well with lower background noise and reagent, consumable and sample costs compared to traditional ELISAs. Specifi

From protein sample preparation to next-generation sequencing to cell biology or the now more traditional HTS assays, many scientists are trying to eliminate the numerous manual steps that add cost and introduce variability to laboratory procedures.

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

In June 2011, Lab Manager, along with ChemSW Inc. and 3E Company, hosted a “Product Showcase” webinar on “How to Seamlessly Integrate MSDSs with Chemical Inventory Management.”

In many applications, contamination of the gas stream must be prevented. When processing gases or sampling elements within a controlled environment, conveying the gas desirably cannot add trace elements such as lubricants or wear particles.

Lab automation projects have become cooperative activities between lab and IT groups. This is part of the evolution of lab systems.

Emerging techniques for assessing physical properties of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, medical devices and packaging.

Various types of synthetic colorants are used as food additives, and gradient elution is generally used to analyze them. The Nexera UHPLC (Shimadzu) enables stable, ultrafast gradient elution through accurate solution delivery and the use of a high--efficiency gradient mixer.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a powerful analytical technique used to separate, identify and quantify compounds with a wide range of differing properties.

Microvolume assessment of bacterial culture growth was found to facilitate measurement of undiluted cultures. Comparison between microvolume and cuvette-based data requires the use of a conversion factor, which can be simply determined.

Microwave Assisted Extraction offers significant benefits over traditional extraction techniques for PCB determination from environmental samples including higher sample throughput, time savings, reduced solvent, and great reproducibility.

The cleaning of cosmetic creams and lotions from glassware is achieved through a combination of detergents, hot water – programmed in automated washing system.

CEM has developed a method for the simultaneous and rapid preparation of vastly different food sample types for trace metal analysis.

Embattled like much of the United States economy, and having endured several years of anemic demand from consumers caught in the throes of a prolonged recession and high levels of unemployment, the $58.3 billion a year cosmetics and personal care industry in the US is eager for a rebound.

A few weeks ago some colleagues and I drove from the New York City area north to Ontario, Canada for Lab Manager's annual sales meeting. Five hours into the trip—somewhere near Buffalo—I realized I’d forgotten my passport...

The prospect of gas cylinder accidents inspires awe and fear in lab workers. However, a safer alternative exists for some of the more common specialty gases: on-site or point-of-use generation that uses membranes, catalysts, or pressure swing absorption to generate pure gases from air or water.

Oil-free diaphragm pumps have earned a reputation for environmental- friendliness for low- to medium- pressure applications. At the low-pressure end, pumps do not continuously send water down the drain as do aspirators.

Although serious Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) research and core analysis facilities are still alive and well, traditional applications are giving way to more dynamic uses such as controlling processes and field work.

Despite their maturity as a product category, chillers and baths continue their slow evolution, particularly in the areas of controls and user interface.

Despite the technique’s maturity, ultraviolet and visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy has been a fertile area for innovation, both in terms of underlying technology and instrumentation.

Ralph Garippa, Ph.D., independent consultant and former head of cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) and microscopic imaging-based high-content screening (HCS) at Hoffmann-La Roche, discusses the recent trends in cell culture.

How to stop arguing and start communicating in the lab!

I wrote here several months ago that managers have the power to dramatically improve a lab’s bottom line by embracing new ways of doing things. I told the story of how one of the biggest game changers in the industry— the automation of manual processes— came about because suppliers chose to look at the customer/lab relationship in a new way.

It is ever more difficult to argue that motivating knowledge workers is not the Holy Grail for 21st century lab managers. “Leadership,” according to management consultants, “is the process of motivating people to work together to accomplish great things."

The measurement of Poisson’s ratio can be a delicate matter. 

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) process deposits thin films of precursor materials onto substrates one atomic layer at a time to impart such properties as conductivity, chemical resistance, and strength. Research and development operations utilize ALD systems to investigate new applications for producing advanced technologies such as semiconductor wafers, nanoelectronics, and optics.

Legally sold as “Vanilla Sky” and “Ivory Wave,” bath salts have become very popular for the very dangerous “high” they are providing.

Given the current economic climate, most employers are probably looking to save on operations and improve their bottom lines. Usually they begin by trying to increase efficiency, or “trim the fat,” as the saying goes. And those of us who work in the area of health and safety know that we are usually prime targets.

Mixing solutions is one of the most common laboratory tasks. Over the years, a number of automated methods for mixing have been devised, all of which remove this burden from the operator by offering a sustained and controlled stirring action for indefinite periods of time.

Careful planning and consistent monitoring can significantly improve equipment maintenance programs.

Activity-based management (ABM) is an approach to management in which work process managers—in this case, lab managers at all levels—are given the responsibility and authority to continuously improve the planning and control of operations.

Fire extinguishers need to be appropriate to the type of fire. Type A fires form an ash. A water extinguisher is for fires involving burning wood or paper, and so on.