More Useful Links

1) I would like to thank Tom, a viewer of this blog. He sent me the following link for Constructing Inexpensive Lab Equipment. The link I have as I talked about before is no longer working. I browsed the link Tom gave me and I was able to download the files from there. There are many pdf files to get, so go get them before they get lost.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070704042228/icase.unl.edu/guidbo
ks/guidebok.htm

Here are some more important websites for the citizen scientist.

2) This pdf file was sent to me by Jake(thanks Jake) another reader of the blog. I was able to find a link for it.

The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments - How to Set Up a Home Laboratory - Over 200 Simple Experiments by Robert Brent. I have the soft cover version of this book and I am very glad to find a pdf of it. This way I do not have use the original and worry about damaging it. When looking at this book on the internet you find that many talk about it being a dangerous book, but again let us face the facts that is what can make science fun. So be careful with it. It shows how to setup a home lab and build some of the equipment needed. It has many chemistry experiments as well.

http://chemistry.about.com/library/goldenchem.pdf

3) This link gives you a list of chemicals to outfit your lab and where you might be able to find them. It is part of the Make Science Room. It is a good source I have been searching to see if I can find many of these chemicals especially here in Canada.

http://blog.makezine.com/science_room/general/setting_up_a_home
_science_lab3/

All 3 of these links and all other links are posted on my Links portion of the blog, lower right hand.

Again I would like to thank many of my readers for their responses and ideas. With input from others it will make this a better blog.

Density Meter

I found this in (drawing above) "The Amateur Scientist" by C.L.Stong - chapter on How to Cultivate Harmless Bacteria. It is a light meter for measuring the density of bacterial growth.

Using the items found in the above picture I hope to build this for my use in measuring yeast growth in my experiments. I have collected a box (this one is wood, it can be card board or plastic), the cover should keep out any light. I have a laser pointer as my light source (the original uses a light bulb, if the laser doesn't work, I will use a light bulb). A lens is used to focus the light beam, therefore, giving a more pinpoint concentration of light. A solar cell rated at 5 volts will measure the intensity of the light coming through the sample. The less the growth, more of the light reaches the panel. The volt meter will be connected to the solar panel which will give me my readings.

I will look into hooking it up to my homemade laptop oscillscope so I can record my measurements. I will post the finished meter later when I have worked it out.

Centrifuge Revisited

I have been asked to talk more about how I put together my centrifuge.

In the first picture the centrifuge is partly disassembled. The blender, 2 large salad bowls, small metal mixing bowl, 2 toothbrush travel holders(tops), 2 small angle bars with 1 hole at each end, 4 screws, nuts and lock washers and 2 plastic adjustable ties, 4 clips(to hold salad bowls together when spinning), fishing weights and foam(for inside bottom of tube holders not seen) and duct tape.

The second shows where I cut the upper wall of the blender to flatten and level out the top so the metal dish can spin without touching anything.

In the third picture I put the tube holder put together. I measured the height of the side hole(this is important must be the same for both holders) and drilled this hole slightly larger then the screw. I screwed the angle iron on the tube holder with the screw head on the inside so that it is flat on the inside of the holder. I used a lock washer to tighten it properly. Then I used a plastic adjustable tie to support and steady the tube. Then I did the same for the second holder. Using a balance, some foam and a bit of lead(fishing weights) I balanced each one with the other so they offset each other.

In picture 4 I drilled a hole in the center of the metal dish. This must be done carefully because if not exactly centered it will wobble. First time I used a drill and vise to hold the bowl and did not get it right. Second time I used a drill press and a drill press vise to center the bowl and this time it worked. Now place this on the blender and make sure it spins evenly before going on to the next step. Next you have to drill the side holes for the tube holders(again use a drill press and vise if possible to keep everything steady, you don't want the holes to be of different sizes this could add a weight imbalance by taking off too much from 1 side than the other) . Again you must measure correctly to offset each holder on opposite ends. Now place this on the blender and make sure it spins evenly before going on to the next step. Now put the bowl and holders together.

Next I cut out a large hole in the center of one of the salad bowls. This will fit over and sit on the blender. I used duct tape to hold the bowl in place. Now I placed the tube holder and small bowl on the blender and secured it in place with the blender center piece(shown in the third picture). I placed the 2nd salad bowl on top of the 1st salad bowl edge to edge with the bottom of the bowl pointed up. I used the clips to hold it in place.

Then I tried it out. I do not recommend trying this with out the salad bowls in place. If anything goes flying this should hopefully protect you. Remember be careful when building and using a centrifuge they can be very dangerous. So create at your own risk and I am not responsible for any injuries from building or using a homemade centrifuge.

Stir Plate

Using a candy dish, a fan from an old computer, 2 fridge magnets, a variable resister (old radio volume control), a toggle switch, a 9 volt battery and connector (old radio), some wire (old telephone wire), 4 screws and 8 nuts I was able to build a stir plate. Every part was found from thrown away items and electronics.

The only tools used are drill with bits to cut the holes for mounting the fan, mounting the switch and mounting the resistor. 2 small files, 1 flat for the surface and 1 round for the edges of the holes. Soldering iron for the electronic connections and contact cement for the magnets.

It works well. You can find other directions for building a stir plate on the internet. What I did was very simple, about an hour to put together and totally free.

Useful and Deleted Links

The Other night I was checking my Links list and found the link to Constructing Inexpensive Lab Equipment no longer works. I hope people have downloaded the files and saved them or printed them out. That is why it is often a good idea to print the pages of a web site up or make sure you download any information needed because you never know how long a site will stay up.

I have found 3 useful links for older books that where used in building lab equipment and to do experiments from. They are:

1)The New Unesco Source Book for Science Teaching. Is sort of different edition of the book 700 Science Experiments for Everyone. I am not sure if this book is out of print. A look online and you can still find this brand new. I haven't been able to find a pdf or site for the original book.

unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000056/005641E.pdf

2)The Scientific American Book of Projects. This book is out of print and is a very interesting book.

www.sciencemadness.org/
library/books/projects_for_the_amateur_scientist.pdf

3)The Make Science Room. It is related to the book "Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments" by Robert Bruce Thompson that I talked about in an earlier post:

http://blog.makezine.com/science_room/

I am glad I found the first 2 because I have the books and I would rather read through the PDF files instead of my old books. It is too easy to damage them.

Again make sure to get it while they are up, you don't know how long that will be.

DIY Incubator

I have received email asking me to talk more about the incubator I was putting together. In the picture to the left you can see all the parts I use to build my incubator. The Styrofoam cooler I found on garbage day, but you can pick one up very cheaply. I use this right now to test the whole operation of the incubator. I have a plastic cooler that I will use for my lab. It is much easier to clean and sterilize the plastic.

For the heating I am using an aquarium heater to keep a constant temperature. I use a CPU fan from an old computer to circulate the air over the heater. I power it with the power supply from this old computer. There are many parts that can be used from old electronics. The old computers themselves can be used for programming and hardware builds and you do not need to worry about damaging them.

I found a kitchen cupboard organizer at a department store. This allows me to separate plates, tubes and flasks so the air can circulate around them giving me a stable temperature all around. A multi-meter with temperature measurement was found in a surplus store. This allows me to monitor the temperature without me constantly opening the incubator.

In the picture top right you see the incubator put together with some plates in it. The heater is attached to the cupboard organizer. This keeps it out of the way.

Crystal Kits and More

Seen here are a couple of crystal growing kits I picked up from a discount store for $5.00 each. When I was younger I always enjoyed growing crystals. I had a crystal growing kit from the Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) science sets.

I found the Discovery DNA Kit (seen in the picture). It was not working but I took it apart and found a connection was missing, a bit of solder and wire and it works fine. You can see this in the picture of my lab from an earlier post. It is like the CSI DNA kit.

Other things I have found. From the flee market I picked up a double height wooden test-tube rack, 50 test-tubes of 3 different sizes and a round bottom flask 3000 ml. All this for under $10.00.

From the trash I found a glass aquarium. It is large enough to be used as a sterile transfer chamber for my micro work. Laying it on it's side and putting a cover over the mouth and using Lysol or alcohol to spray I should be able to sterilize the inside of it. Using the glass side to look through I should be able to transfer my cultures in a sterile environment. I got this idea from an old Amateur scientist column where they build one out of wood and a glass top.

Also from the trash I found an old hair dryer and an old model train transformer. The transformer was not working, but after taking it apart I found all the connections had fallen apart from age. I soldered a new cord (from the old hair dryer, keep the heating wire from the dryer it my come in handy later on) on to it and it is working fine. It goes from 0 to 21 volts. I will try to use this as a power supply for my electrophoresis. It is not as high as I would like but I have been using 3 - 9 volt batteries and they use up fast. The dryer also has a switch that may be used later.

The Lego MindStorms Kit

I received this as Christmas gift. It was greatly reduced. It is an older kit and was found at a clearance store. I have been visiting a few sites that talk about using this kit for building laboratory equipment.

Here is one site:

http://groups.google.com/group/diybio/browse_thread/thread/3c31273ee058364b#

Here is another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbAH9TiGqs

And another(this is just using Lego):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Microtome/

I like DNA science (DNA extraction, there is many sites and recipes for this) and DIYBIO (do it yourself biology) and I have looked into PCR (polymerase chain reaction) which is the copying of DNA. Basically with the right chemicals and the heating and cooling of the DNA you can take a small amount of DNA and make more for testing. So to do this manually you would take your sample and transfer it from a hot water bath to a cold water bath many times or you could buy a thermocycler (which usually is expensive).

So what I am looking into doing is building an arm from the Lego Mindstorm kit to take my sample from one bath to the other at the right timing sequence.

I will be doing more searches on uses for this kit and posting my progress on the development of this project.

Low-tech Gadgets and Solutions

Here is a web page with some low-tech gadgets and solutions. The use of ordinary items to use in a lab setting.

http://bitesizebio.com/2009/04/13/low-tech-lab-gadgets-and-solutions-my-all-time-favs/

From the web site:

For the record, as well as loving Red Dwarf, I’m a huge fan of MacGyver, the TV secret agent who could build any device from everyday items found in the room.

You name it…he could build it in 60 seconds or less using only the chewing gum and dental floss found in his pocket, escape impending demise, and have enough time left over to catch the bad guy as well.

As a result, one of my favorite things in the world is to be like MacGyver and figure out a cheaper or faster way to make or do something useful using everyday items.

So here is my top ten list of favorite lab MacGyverisms; ways to use everyday items to make gadgets and low-tech solutions for the lab that I’ve accumulated over my many years of working as a lab rat and writing tech articles.

10. Scoops or Measuring Cups = no more weighing. Do you weigh out yeast extract, NaCl, and agar for each bottle when preparing media? Save time by weighing the amount of powder that fits in a measuring cup or scoop and then adjust the volume of media in each of your flasks.

Designate one scoop for each powder added and just put one scoop of each per bottle. Weigh once…scoop forever after.

9. Straws = free pasteur pipettes. Plastic straws lifted from fast-food chains can be used for dilutions and innoculations. This may take some experimentation, but I have done this for making hundreds of innoculations for a screening assay without ever having to buy expensive plastic pipettes.

Of all the varieties I tested, McD straws are the best and will actually survive autoclaving (wrapped in bunches of 20 inside aluminum foil!).

The trick is to use a consistent size test tube for dilutions and adjust the volume so that, when the straw is placed into the tube, almost exactly 0.5-1.0 ml ends up in the straw.

You then place your finger over the open end and transfer the liquid. To release the payload, take your finger off the top.

In a similar vein, don’t forget about toothpicks or wooden stir sticks for replica plating.

8. Spaghetti Colander = no more dropped gels. Instead of using a spatula to move your gels from stain to rinse solutions and risk dropping your gel on the floor (butter-side down, of course), use a small plastic colander fitted inside of a bowl, and several bowls of the same size for the washes. That way you can just pick up the colander and move it to the next wash station.

7. Body wash or shampoo = cheap blot washes. Cheap liquid soap can be used for washings. Shampoo contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and can substitute for expensive wash solutions in many types of blots.

Don’t forget that you can use zip-loc baggies instead of a seal-a-meal for hybs too. To get all the air bubbles out, place a hollow stir straw in the corner and make sure all the bubbles go out the straw as you zip it up. Then slide the straw out while you cinch up the last little corner.

6. Instant Milk = long life blocking agent. Powdered milk or cream liquor can be used as a casein-enriched blocking agent for your blots. It may not be any cheaper to use Bailey’s Blotting Juice, but there is an obvious added advantage, plus you never have any stale leftovers.

5. Petroleum Jelly = super-cheap hot start. ‘A little dab’ll do ya’ to “hot start” your Polymerase Chain Reactions. [see Horton et al, 1994]

4. Coffee Grinder = personal minifuge. You can use an old coffee grinder as a mini-centrifuge by modifying it to have rings for holding two eppendorf tubes for quick spins. An old-fashioned hand crank mixer or egg beater also works for this application.

If you use duct tape (not on the list since it is so obvious!) to hold it on a C-clamp, you can screw it onto the lab bench in any convenient location.

3. Toothpaste = DIY miniprep matrix. Some brands of toothpaste contain diatomacieous earth (Celite) as an abrasive. I’ve not tried this myself, but rumor has it that you can separate out the particles and use them as a matrix for binding DNA in mini-preps.

2. Furniture polish = fresh-smelling and silanized plates. Instead of using Rain-X for silanizing glass plates for polyacrylamide gels, use furniture polish. Spray on, wipe off. You also gain points for doing all the lab benches along the way, and extra credit for using the lemon scented variety to freshen up the place.

And the number one low-tech gizmo of all-time is…

1. Record player = shaking incubator. Bob Horton’s homemade shaking incubator was fashioned out of an old-time record player. The plans were originally posted to the bionet methods and reagents bulletin board and highlighted in my monthly column in TiBS under the subtitle “Spin Doctor” [see Hengen, 1996].A classic MacGyverism.

So what ingenious low-tech solutions do you use in your lab?

References:

1. Horton RM, Hoppe BL, Conti-Tronconi BM. 1994. AmpliGrease: “hot start” PCR using petroleum jelly. Biotechniques 16:42-43.

2. Hengen PN. 1996. Methods and reagents. Eliminating banding artifacts from SDS-PAGE. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 21:191-193.

Books

It has been awhile since I added any information. I have spent some time in building my incubator. Testing it out exactly. I will be placing the fish tank heater into a glass dish of water to heat the incubator. I tested this out and it seems to work quite well. I will add either some copper sulphate or aquarium anti-microbial solution to the water to keep microbial life from growing in the glass dish. I need to come up with some shelves to hold plates, tubes and flasks at different heights in the incubator. I will post a final picture of the incubator when it is finished.

For father's day I received a wonderful book titled: Build-it-Yourself Science Laboratory by Raymond E. Barrett. It was published in 1963. It shows you how to build all kinds of lab equipment, for chemistry, physics, and biology. It even has questions to answer by scientific experimentation after each section. We need a book like this today for building our own labs.

Other books I have picked up for my growing library:

Magic with Chemistry by Edward L. Palder 1964.

150 Science Experiments Step-By-Step by Judith Viorst 1963.

Physics, Fun and Beyond by Eduardo de Campos Valadares 2006.

The Thomas Edison book of Easy and Incredible Experiments by the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation 1988.

Basic Chemistry Experiments: A Golden Hobby Book by Robert Brent 1965 edition.

So now I have many more books to add to my collection and more experiments to try out.