If you had access to lab equipment...

Z

Zester

New member
Just looking from some advice from maybe the vets or individuals with seasoned chemistry/biology backgrounds.
Let's just say that hypothetically I conduct research in a clinical lab, and have quite a load of equipment at my disposal. What could/should I do with the following equipment (in your opinion) either if I wanted to sterilize gear that I purchased, test it for purity/authenticity, or make premium homebrew, lol.

- UV Sterilization Biosafety Cabinet (would UV denature any hormone?)
- Autoclave
- Vacuum Chamber
- Spectrofluorometer
- Thermocycler
- Western Blot
- Centrifuge
- Vortexer
- Homogenizer
- Electrophoresis
- Gas Chromatrography
Also ordering a plate reader soon and some other goodies (thanks to NIH money, lol).

Anyone have any creative suggestions as to what I could do with any of these, besides the obvious ;)
 
Genius replies so far LOL!

Seriously, though, you don't want take the chance of getting into trouble for performing an "unauthorized experiment" in the school science lab.

If you want to try sterilizing your gear using the UV light, just purchase one, and do it in the comfort of your own home.

As to whether or not the UV light destroy the potency of your gear, you can test this out pretty easily:

1. Take one ml or two of your gear, and treat it with the UV light
2. Use it and see if you get any results
 
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Lol, it's not a school science lab. It's the research lab that I work in, and it's almost always empty, and I have 24/hr access.
But, oh well, you make sense, generally.
 
Really the only two devices that would make sense to use would be a Laminar Flow Hood and a Convection Oven (which you did not list, obviously). These are used to make injectable AAS. I definitely would not put any of my gear into a BSC or Vertical hood since they are generally used for cytotoxic agents. But this also depends on what your lab does.
However if you know how to use it, you can test Anavar for purity (which is commonly faked by UGLs) using the gas chromatograph to make sure it isn't bunk.
 
Haha, oops. We have a similar oven (to the convection one), and there is a laminar flow hood that is shared by all the labs in my little area.
As for the gas chromatography, where would I find the values to compare a sample to the standards for anavar?
 
Only things you'd really need is the autoclave to sterilize everything and then filter / transfer everything in the fume hood. To be honest it's only marginally better than doing it at home and probably not worth the risk. Testing the legitimacy of products would be fun though.
 
If you want to test gear for purity or concentration, just send it to me. :) You need a mass spec, and not too many people have access to one.

A GC is fine for analyzing what solvents were used, but it would not be effective for analyzing some of the solution's compounds such as oils, and heavier molecules. You would have to evaporate the solvents off first, then set the GC up specifically for the other compounds, etc.. pain in the ass

How old is the GC? What model?
 
infection said:
How old is the GC? What model?
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Hmm, the neighboring lab (in the same area, we share equipment) has a Shimadzu, I don't remember the model, but it's probably about ~5-10 years old.
Also, the incoming spectrofluorometer is supposed to be really high end, and the manual says you should be able to detect even hormones with it, if you know which range of light will detect it.
 
Zester said:
Hmm, the neighboring lab (in the same area, we share equipment) has a Shimadzu, I don't remember the model, but it's probably about ~5-10 years old.
Also, the incoming spectrofluorometer is supposed to be really high end, and the manual says you should be able to detect even hormones with it, if you know which range of light will detect it.
Click to expand...

Haha, there is a lot more to it than just popping in a sample and getting an answer. Fluorescence spectroscopy is my specialty, and you need to have a solid background on emission and excitation spectroscopy as well as advanced organic chemistry to properly analyze the instrumental data.

I can't help but think of how inaccurate a dvd drive would be at carrying out mass spec. MS is some of the most advanced equipment, so I don't see a dvd drive providing much reliable data...
 
infection said:
Haha, there is a lot more to it than just popping in a sample and getting an answer. Fluorescence spectroscopy is my specialty, and you need to have a solid background on emission and excitation spectroscopy as well as advanced organic chemistry to properly analyze the instrumental data.

I can't help but think of how inaccurate a dvd drive would be at carrying out mass spec. MS is some of the most advanced equipment, so I don't see a dvd drive providing much reliable data...
Click to expand...


Well, haha, I'll have to hit you up later!
Our new fluorescence spectrometer should arrive in a week or two.
And, yeah, sadly I've pretty much covered the basics, but haven't really gotten anything advanced yet. That will be my plan for grad school :p
 
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