1

Biotech Lab

Equipment

Overview

2

Table of Contents

Basic Lab Equipment…………………………………...3

Machine-Operated Lab Equipment…………………….8

Pipets…………………………………………………...17

Equipment for Making/Storing Solutions…………….19

What Lab was It Used In?..............................................22

3

Basic Lab Equipment

The Balance

Use: To measure amounts of mass

*Note: Recording the weight of an object should always be recorded to the digit of the known

for the most accurate results. For example, if the balance reads “26.5678,” the recorded number

should be “26.5678,” not rounded to “26.57,” “26.6,” etc.

The Petri Dish

Use: To grow bacterial cultures

*Note: Depending on the lab, the use of a petri dish may

vary slightly. For example, in the Bacterial Transformation

with S3 Plasmid lab, the petri dish was used to specifically

grow transformed colonies of bacteria.

4

The Tirrill Burner (Modification of the Bunsen Burner)

Use: To heat, sterilize, and combust

*Note: Tirrill burners can get over 1600○ F (900

○ C). The hottest point in the flame is called the

cone.

The Funnel

Use: To aid in the transfer of liquids and solids

Controls air

supply

Controls gas

supply

Powder

funnel

Liquid funnel

5

*Note: Liquid funnels are tapered. A funnel with a wide mouth is used for solids and is called a

powder funnel. Powder funnels must be used when transferring solids. However, both a powder

and liquid funnel can be used to transfer liquids.

The Weigh Boat

Use: To weigh powders; to protect a balance from any object to be weighed

*Note: Weigh boats are hydrophobic, meaning that water will not be absorbed by the weigh boat.

Also, when weighing objects with a weigh boat, the weigh boat must first be placed onto the

balance, and the balance must be zeroed-out before proceeding to weigh a particular object in the

weigh boat.

The Scupula

Use: To add or remove small amounts of substance

6

Safety Glasses

Use: To protect the eyes

*Note: Safety glasses, along with all other forms of PPE (personal protective equipment ie. lab

coats, gloves when necessary, etc.) must be worn at all times during labs.

Blue Painter’s Tape

Use: To label solutions, covering the open end of a gel tray, etc.

7

*Note: Painter’s tape is to not be confused with Autoclave tape (as shown below):

Culture Tube

Use: To inoculate bacteria

Stripes to signify

autoclave tape

Loose cap to enable

oxygen to reach

bacteria

8

Machine-Operated Lab Equipment

The Centrifuge

Use: To separate the substances of greater and lesser density

Reading the Dials on a Microcentrifuge

Controls speed (in RPM,

or revolutions per

minute) Controls time (in minutes)

9

The Mini Centrifuge

Use: For quick spin- downs from tube walls and

caps

The Vortexer

Use: To vortex/mix samples

10

The Spectrophotometer

Use: To measure the protein present in a solution; used in the Bradford

Protein Assay)

Where cuvette with

sample is placed

Where cuvette

used to calibrate

device is placed Where blank cuvette

used for calibration is

placed

11

The Heat Block

Use: To regulate the temperature of

anything subjected to heat

The Water Bath

Use: To regulate the temperature of anything subjected to heat (using water

as the conductor of heat)

Where samples needed

to be kept at a certain

temperature are placed

(ex. solution containing

enzymes)

12

The Incubator

Use: To grow and maintain the course of microbiological cultures or cell

cultures

The Shaking Incubator

Use: To allow for increased array of functions when growing micro-organisms

in a liquid culture

13

Gel Boxes

Use: To run vertical or horizontal gels (DNA gels, protein gels, etc.)

*Note: Above is a horizontal gel electrophoresis chamber (gel box). Below is a vertical

electrophoresis system. Horizontal gel boxes are used to run DNA gels, while vertical

electrophoresis systems are used to run protein gels.

Negative

end

Positive

end

Positive

end

Negative

End

14

The Power Supply

Use: To provide energy to run gels

Banana

plug jacks

Electrode

assembly

Notch on U-shaped

gasket

Gel

cassette

15

*Note: To tell whether or not a gel is running properly, look for bubbles in the chamber.

Other Gel Equipment:

Gel Comb

Use: To create wells

*Note: Pennies can be used to ensure the height of the gel comb is correct.

“Teeth”

of comb

16

Gel Tray

Use: To provide the mold for a gel

The

Autoclave

Use: To sterilize liquids, containers, and instruments by increasing the

pressure such that the boiling point of water is raised beyond 100○

C, thus far

killing most microorganisms

Lanes

17

Pipets

Micropipets

Use: To measure volumes of 1 ml or less

The most common ranges for micropipettes come in four varying sizes: P-10’s, measuring from

0.5-10 microliters, P-20’s, measuring from 2-20 microliters, P-200’s, measuring from 20-200

microliters, and P-1,000’s, measuring from 100-1,000 microliters. Note that a pipet is least

accurate when it is used to measure a volume that is at the bottom of its range. Thus, a P-20

would be most accurate when measuring 2 microliters, but least accurate when measuring 20

microliters. In this scenario, a P-200 would be more preferable to use if it was necessary to

measure 20 microliters.

P-1,000 P-20

18

*Note: To distinguish between micropipettes (P-10, P-20, etc.) without looking at the labels at

the top of the device, look at the bottom tips of the micropipette. The easiest to distinguish are

the P-10’s and P-1,000’s, P-10’s being the longest and narrowest, and P-1,000’s being the widest

and shortest. P-20’s and P-200’s appear to look very similar at first glance. However, the tips of

P-20’s will be slightly more elongated and narrower than that of P-200’s, and the P-200’s will be

more stout and blunt appearing. Refer to this below figure:

P-10 P-200

P-10

P-20

P-200

19

Tips

Equipment for Making/Storing Solutions

The Graduated Cylinder

Used for P-20’s and P-200’s

Used for P-1,000’s

Used for P-10’s

P-1,000

20

Use: To accurately measure the

volume of a liquid

*Note: When reading the indicated

volume on a graduated cylinder, always

read from the bottom of the meniscus. As

shown in the above figure, the volume

is 72.? mL. Don’t forget uncertainty

The

Volumetric Flask

Use: To make Molar

Solutions

Meniscus

Etched ring graduation marking

21

The Snaptop Microcentrifuge

Tube (1.5 ml shown)

Use: To mix and store substances of 1.5

ml or less (amount of volume varies

depending on size)

The Clear, Screwtop Microcentrifuge Tube with a Skirt

(2.0ml shown)

Use: To mix and store substances of 2.0 or less (amount of volume varies

depending on size)

Skirt

22

*Note: Holds up to 2ml, but recorded volume is up to 1.25ml.

The Reagent Bottle

Use: To store solutions

What Lab was it Used in?

Gram Staining

Decolorizer

(alcohol)

Safranin: responsible

for turning gram-

negative bacteria

appear pink

Crystal Violet:

responsible for turning

gram-positive bacteria

appear deep purple

23

*Note: Gram’s iodine (used to cover the bacteria) is not shown.

Ouchterlony Lab

1xPBS used

as negative

control

(undiluted

solution

shown here)

24

Making/Runnin

g DNA Gels

Running Protein Gels

*Note: 1xTGS will turn soapy when shaken vigorously.

1xTAE buffer

1xTGS buffer

SYBR

safe

Agarose (not to

be confused with

agar)

25

Miniprep

Transformation

*Note: Chemical

name – CaCl2

(actual solution not

shown)

Alkaline Lysis Solutions I, II, and III

(III not shown)

26

Protein Chromatography

End cap

Reservoir

Resin

Luer fitting

with snap-off

tip

Column