The world of science is forever changing as new research emerges. Brand-new healthcare technologies are being released every year to meet the ever-increasing demands of the growing population.
Medical and biology labs must constantly adapt and adjust their operations to keep up with these changes. Using outdated equipment or old software can be detrimental to the accuracy and reliability of their results.
Despite the medical field is ever-changing, there are certain items that every biology lab will always need. The staple pieces of equipment are used in the daily routine of every biomedical scientist to process and analyze samples or create detailed medical reports.
The laboratory basics will enable any biology lab to complete the majority of its necessary operations, alongside automation and machine learning software. With just a small selection of cold storage solutions equipment, cells can be viewed in detail, serum samples can be analyzed, and specimens can be dissected.
So, what are these necessities? Here are some of the most important pieces of life science equipment that every biology lab needs.
Personal Protective Equipment
Safety should always come first in any biology lab. Personal protective equipment (PPE) helps to protect your lab technicians when they’re dealing with potentially harmful chemicals or infected blood samples.
PPE includes protective goggles, gloves, and long lab coats. Your lab should also have a fully stocked first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket. All of your staff should be fully informed of the health and safety procedures to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries.
Test Tubes and Slides
In order to properly prepare and analyze samples and specimens, your biology lab needs to have a large selection of clean test tubes and slides on hand.
Your lab may be processing blood, mucus, urine, or saliva samples. Each type of sample will require a specific type of equipment to enable your lab technicians to perform the necessary procedures for sample analysis.
Test tubes are used in centrifuges to separate the various components of the sample according to their density. The components can then be further analyzed using additional lab equipment.
Slides are most commonly used to look at cell cultures and tissue samples under a powerful microscope. Specimens are thinly sliced and spread onto slides. Dyes may be added to highlight certain proteins or cell organelles.
Incubators and Water Baths
Keeping your samples at the right temperature is vital to ensure they remain stable. Otherwise, the quality of your samples decreases before you can properly analyze them.
Every biology lab should have at least one incubator and one water bath to make heating and storing biological samples as easy as possible. The heating of samples may be necessary to maintain cell viability or stimulate cell growth.
Most incubators and water baths can be set to a specific temperature and humidity. You can also use a thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of each machine to optimize the environmental conditions for your samples.
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