Lab equipment maintenance and repair is an important factor in making your laboratory efficient, saving on expenses, and attaining quality assurance of your experiments. When carrying out your experiment, accuracy is paramount. Failure to repair worn-out equipment may derail your output. Lack of lab equipment repair and maintenance might also produce invalid results for your work. Well maintained and repaired lab equipment allows you to produce reliable and consistent data. When you repair your equipment and perform regular maintenance, you reduce the chances of having to replace your equipment, hence cutting down the costs of running your laboratory.
Here are The Best Lab Repair and Maintenance Tips According to Experts 1. Cleaning General and regular cleaning of your equipment remove the substances and stains from the previous experiments making your equipment ready for use when needed. Cleaning eliminates impurities from the previous experiments from contaminating the current experiments. When cleaning your equipment, ensure it is clean before and after an experiment. Ensure the cleaning aids and the cleaning reagents are specific for each type of equipment. For proper and in-depth cleanliness, disassemble your equipment to ensure the hard-to-reach parts are sparkling clean. If you want to make your equipment last longer, follow the instructions and recommendations of the equipment manufacturer on cleaning. Equipment manufacturers may recommend specific solvents, drying procedures, and cleaning materials. 2. Calibration Equipment calibration entails comparing your devices against set standard measurements. Calibration helps in checking your equipment’s precision, accuracy and allows you to make the necessary adjustments from the results. It would be best if you calibrated your equipment regularly at set intervals to prevent biases and prevent invalid data during an experiment. When should you calibrate your equipment?
3. Repairing After some time, your lab equipment will cease to work properly or provide inaccurate results due to wear or tear. Instead of disposing of your equipment, consider repairing it or replacing the faulty parts. It will be costly to dispose of your equipment and purchase your equipment rather than repair it. It is easier to replace the faulty components when dealing with larger equipment. Repairing reduces maintenance costs and increases the lifespan of your equipment. Due to the nature of some equipment, some components wear out faster than others; it is better to replace these components rather than dispose of the whole piece of equipment. When dealing with laboratory equipment such as a microscope, filtration system, and centrifuge lenses, replacing the parts is easier than disposing of the entire equipment. 4. Refurbishing It is best to refurbish lab equipment that doesn’t run as smoothly as before. The refurbishing process involves taking each component of your equipment apart and cleaning each part. Where necessary, polish the components and lubricate all the moving parts of your equipment. Consider replacing components that show signs of wear and tear to prevent further damage to the components. When refurbishing your equipment, make sure you have the technical know-how. Refurbishing helps your equipment return to as good as new and is best done by a professional. 5. Maintenance of Electronics Maintenance of electronics in the lab is similar to repairing and maintaining other laboratory equipment. Electronic equipment is mainly affected by heat, dust, and electrical surges. When using computer devices, dust collects on the casing; hence it is better to clean these cases regularly. When your electronic devices are operating, there is a tendency to generate heat. If there is overheating on your electronics, there could be damage to the electric components, such as the circuits. The best way to keep overheating at bay is to keep your laboratory ventilated. If you want to prevent short-circuiting in your electronic devices, consider installing surge protectors on your lab sockets. 6. Maintenance of Software Most computers connected to laboratory equipment either have outdated or disabled antivirus software or updates. Ensure that your equipment is compatible with antivirus and software updates when purchasing. Working without updates and antivirus poses a great security threat to your organization’s network. For optimum performance of your system, ensure you perform a scheduled antivirus and update scan. If you want to limit the spread of viruses, ensure the following:
Final Thoughts Sometimes your laboratory equipment cannot be repaired or refurbished. The only option is to replace. It is advisable to purchase quality equipment from a recognized supplier. Some suppliers guarantee the quality of your equipment and provide technical support such as installation and maintenance. Consider replacing faulty equipment that has overstayed in the lab with new ones. Ensure that you embed your lab standard operation procedure with the repair and maintenance of your equipment. If you don’t have the technical capabilities of repairing and maintaining your equipment, consider outsourcing the tasks. An expert should do maintenance and repair work. In-house maintenance is often more costly than outsourcing the tasks to a third-party company. When you want to keep or upgrade the reputation of your laboratory, consider cleaning, repairing, calibrating, and refurbishing your equipment. At Biotechnical Services Inc., we provide the best laboratory equipment maintenance and repair services in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Our equipment maintenance procedure is up to date. We have the latest calibrating and refurbishing equipment. Our staff has the best training with wide experience in lab equipment. To maintain the good reputation of your laboratory, contact us today for your maintenance, repair, calibration, refurbishing, and installation of new equipment. Original blog posted here - https://www.biotechserv.com/6-must-know-lab-equipment-repair-tips-by-experts-in-san-francisco/
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What are Thermal Cyclers? How to Calibrate it – What to Know by Specialists in Los Angeles, CA1/11/2022 Thermal Cyclers are laboratory apparatus that amplify segments of DNA using Polymerase Reaction (PCR). A thermal cycler is also known as a DNA Amplifier, PCR Machine, or Thermocycler. It consists of a thermal block with holes for inserting tubes, allowing PCR mixture reaction to occur. The cycle normally lowers or raises the block’s temperature in pre-programmed, discrete steps. A thermal cycler is important for a laboratory dealing in molecular biology and gene cloning. Thermal cyclers are available in various models and sizes. You can purchase larger or compact models depending on lab space.
A common Thermal Cycler contains the following components:
Different Types of Thermal Cycler Calibration ROI Calibration ROI calibration maps the sample block and establishes the positions of the wells using the SDS software. When ROI calibration is performed, the SDS software will increase the fluorescence at each specific well of the reaction plate during the instrument operation. ROI calibration is performed every six months or when you want to verify the performance of your thermal cycler. Background Calibration The SDS software measures the ambient fluorescence from the background electric signals, consumables, water inside the consumables, and sampling blocks when performing the background calibration. The background calibration helps the SDS software increase instrument precision by eliminating the background signals from the fluorescent samples. Background calibration is performed every month when installing an uncalibrated block or before performing a pure dye calibration. Pure Dye Spectra Calibration The purpose of the pure dye spectra calibration is to distinguish each fluorescent dye used in your instrument operation. The SDS software processes each set of pure dye standards using a set of spectral data it receives at each run. Pure dye spectra calibration is performed every six months or before installing an uncalibrated block. Instrument Verification Run Instrument verification run calibration ensures that the thermal cycle can calculate quantities of two unknowns by providing a standard curve. Instrument verification run calibration is done every six months or when you want to verify your thermal cycler performance. How to Calibrate a Thermal Cycler Calibration By Imitation of The PCR Process It is the best method to calibrate your thermal cycler. The calibration method mimics the normal PCR process, thus providing precise results. When conducting this calibration method, keep the process at a real temperature using a particular reaction mixture in your thermal cycler tube. The process must be carried while mimicking a PCR protocol from a particular instrument. Use a variety of mix combinations and repeat the process to establish consistency using the PCR protocol. Collect different variables during the experiment by conducting your exercise using the thermal cycler’s temperature range under calibration. When you copy the PCR process at a particular temperature, you will find the uncertainty range of your thermal cycler without inactivating the polymerase. Representative Process Calibration The representative calibration process uses the usual standard measurement of the PCR process. The calibration method uses both the static and the dynamic aspects of the standard PCR. When conducting this calibration process, you will be able to solve problems that are hard to detect by the naked eye. The process calibrates your thermal cycler by checking the temperature during hybridization, elongation, and denaturation. Calibration According to International Standards It is the perfect method to calibrate a thermal cycler when working in a metrology setup. The calibration process by international standards is carried out in specific conditions. The primary advantage of this process is that you will be able to get traceability of your calibration by comparing them with the reference standards and producing your calibration results using the international standards units. When using international standards, the calibration is normally performed by specialized engineers who are competent to perform such tasks. How to Know If the Calibration Process is Completely Safe
Conclusion Calibrating your thermal cycler is essential for improving the accuracy of your tests, improving your PCR yields, controlling your reagents, and conforming to the regulatory requirements. Calibration of a thermal cycler is a sensitive exercise that a specialized and competent engineer must carry out. At Biotechnical Services, Inc., we have experienced personnel to calibrate your thermal cycler according to the required international standards. We provide accredited calibration and validation testing for all types of thermal cyclers. Our laboratory staff uses stringent practices that comply with the accredited standards. If you are in Los Angeles or any part of California, contact us today for the best thermal cycler lab equipment calibration services. Original article posted here - https://www.biotechserv.com/what-are-thermal-cyclers-how-to-calibrate-it-what-to-know-by-specialists-in-los-angeles-ca/ |
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