An incubator shaker is required equipment for all laboratories that are engaged in biomedical or biological research. Often also called shaking incubators or environmental shakers, they combine the functions of shakers and incubators into a single integrated unit.



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  These units have found uses in numerous applications in research in the fields of medicine, biology, pharmacy and environmental protection. There are a host of applications where incubator shakers are used including hybridization, germ culture, research of biochemical reactions, enzyme and cellular tissues. The most common application of an incubator shaker is for the growth of bacterial culture and other applications requiring both high temperature and oscillation frequency.

These environmental or incubating shakers, are often used for cell culturing, cell aeration and solubility studies. Other applications include microbiology, bacteriology and metabolism research. In addition to stable temperature conditions, they use an orbital agitation at variable speeds to affect the growth of cell cultures. Some of these units have features such as adjustable stroke lengths to accommodate various cells and applications. This provides greater flexibility in adjusting the speed and orbit to meet the requirements of specific applications.

Optimum biological growth requires precise control and uniform conditions. A good incubator shaker provides these functions with the use of digital controls and easy to read temperature and speed displays. A PC communications link that provides the ability to record temperature, speed and time measurement is useful in documentation and regulatory compliance, where applicable. Another desirable feature is outstanding temperature control and uniformity to insure adherence to laboratory specifications. ASTM E1292 is the specification for temperature uniformity.

Incubating shakers are designed to provide uniform controlled conditions. The latest models use microprocessors to help achieve this control. They are designed to accommodate different range of test tubes, flasks and other glassware. An incubator shaker can typically also be used with micro-plates and micro-tubes. The desired temperature is set and forced air circulation ensures uniform heating. Temperature can be monitored via digital display.
Some of the more advanced incubation shakers feature programming which enables multiple parameter changes, including temperature, speed, photosynthetic lights and UV light decontamination. These models provide are multiple programs, each on a large display for improved visibility throughout the laboratory. All of these programs are easily changed on a timed basis, making them well suited for heat inductions or temperature reductions to slow growth. This eliminates unnecessary trips back to the laboratory. It allows the researcher to program the incubator shaker system automatically to make changes in temperature, speed and other parameters, instead of coming in on weekends to change it.

Other incubating shaker systems are appropriate for bacterial cultures and enzyme reactions, such as Proteinase K digestion. This permits researchers to further simplify the pre-DNA extraction process by preparing the samples and then placing the tube units directly onto the DNA extraction system.

The instruments combination of oscillation and heating functions make for an instrument which is an essential piece of equipment in many types of research laboratory. This functional combination makes the incubator shaker an extremely versatile tool which is very useful for a wide variety of research applications, saving valuable bench top space by eliminating the need for separate heating and shaking instruments.

Andrew Long writes for scientific websites and a main area for content covers shaking incubator and laboratory incubators products.



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 Within the clinical, research, or chemistry laboratory there are many devices used for the handling and preparation of chemicals. One of the most important pieces of equipment is the laboratory stirring device. This simple yet purposeful machine is used for the mixing of liquid chemicals, and for the dissolution of solids within a liquid.

Mixing and stirring is a vital part of chemical reactions, acting as a catalyst to promote molecular reactions of chemical substances. Stirring frequently or constantly is what a good laboratory stirrer can accomplish. Mixing, either rapid or slow, can be attained using a variety of mixing devices, which will be discussed in brief in this article.

The magnetic stirrer is by far the most popular laboratory stirrer used. It is comprised of a flat base, with or
without control features, and a power cord. A magnetic pellet, plastic coated so as not to interfere with the chemical reactions within a container, is placed within the medium to be mixed. The unit is switched on, causing a motor within the platform to spin. The spinning shaft is attached to another magnet, which in turn spins the capsule placed inside the mixing container.

This can give constant mixing for any given amount of time. The capsule can be coated with a variety of materials, some for reactive uses, and others that are non-reactive. The capsule can come in many different sizes and shapes, but the standard capsule is oval-rounded in shape. Sizes can vary for the size of the container being used.

This type of stirrer can also come with a heating or cooling element to aid in the catalytic reaction. This is extremely useful to chemists, as the reaction times can be diminished with certain temperatures. The cooling unit is great for keeping delicate reagents from breaking down, thus their shelf life is maintained for longer periods. The cooling mechanism is usually a Peltier reaction core, or thermo electronic cooling.

There are different mixers, as well. Some are based on a swirling technology such as a vortex mixer. This mixer can come in different sizes also, to be used on tiny reaction tubes to larger containers. Vortex mixing is the action of swirling at a high speed to cause a spin in the mixable media, in turn causing a vortex tube within the liquid. Vortex mixers can be automatic, activating when pressing down upon the rubber cup, or switched on for constant mixing of multiple tubes and containers.

Large platform mixers are also used. These rotational mixers have a table on which specimens or chemicals are set upon for mixing. Some of these types of mixers have clamps to hold the containers in place, preventing spills. The table rotates at a certain chosen speed, gently swirling the reagents within the containers. These mixers can also be placed within an incubator for speed of reaction.
Inverting mixers are used in microbiology and other biotechnical experiments. The bottles or containers are place in the mixing device, which holds them in place for inversion. The unit then tips the bottles at a constant rate, or just simply tips the containers at a set time so maintain homogeneity.
Stirrers and mixers are obviously an important and integral part of the laboratory setting, from research to medical. Without them, hand stirring and mixing would slow down productivity and may even lead to poor results.

Take a look at other relevant information from Andrew Long including lab shaker products and related material.



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 Do you know why pipette calibration is important? Learn how pipettes are used to measure and transfer liquids and for achieving perfection, they need to be calibrated. Can you calibrate pipette instruments on your own? Here are some tips in this article you can consider when it comes to calibrating these instruments on your own.

Using Pipettes - Importance of Pipette Calibration
The pipette is a common instrument used in science labs and heath care centers. This instrument creates a vacuum to draw liquid and so it is used for measuring or transferring materials. The accuracy of this instrument measurements is very crucial and therefore, pipette calibration on regular basis is necessary. Get your instruments calibrated regularly if you wish that your instruments give accurate measurements.

Can You Calibrate Pipettes On Your Own?
You can get your pipette instruments calibrated on your own if you consider certain things into your mind. There are certain things which you will need while doing calibration of your instruments like pipette, thermometer, Erlenmeyer flask, pipette filler, beaker, weight balance, and pen & paper. Get hold of all the necessary items which are required for the purpose of calibration. Once you get them, you can start doing the process easily.

Getting Started:
1. Cleaning the Equipments
First of all, clean and dry your pipette and beaker which you are going to use. By cleaning equipments, any residue from your past use will be removed which can skew your measurements. It is very crucial step you have to do before you go further.

2. Working with Erlenmeyer Flask
You have to put distilled water in your Erlenmeyer flask and leave it for 15 minutes. Waiting for 15 minutes, you can measure the temperature of the water to see the difference.

3. Using Beaker and Weight Balance
You have to first determine the mass of the beaker and it should be around tenth of a milligram. Here, you will need weight balance to do perform this task.

4. Using Pipette Filler
Using pipette filler, you have to fill your pipette with the waster taking from the flask. Then, you have to put the water into the beaker you have taken. After that, weigh the beaker to see the difference in weight from your previous measurements. To arrive at a fine conclusion, you have to repeat this process three or four times.

As you go further doing all necessary steps, as mentioned so far, you have to determine the density of water at the same temperature you measured previously. After that, you have to find the mean volume of water discharged by your pipette by using the formula volume = density/mass. You may compare your calculations or measurements with other results for pipette calibration so that you can have the precision for your pipette instrument.

These are some of the tips and steps you may consider while doing pipette calibration on your own. If you wish to learn more about calibration services consisting of instrument calibration and temperature calibration, you may visit rscalibration.com.

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A laboratory is a place where varied types of scientific research and experiments are performed. A laboratory is used for observation and testing. The laboratory is found in schools, colleges, health centers, hospitals, research centers, investigation centers etc. This can be just a single room or a complete building equipped with all facilities to perform experiments. The laboratories are designed in such a way that depending on the subject of research, varied tasks can be performed like scientific experimentation or research, manufacturing of drugs and chemicals, collection of data and samples etc.

The science subject as a whole is a vast subject consisting of various fields of studies, though the main categories are physics, biology, chemistry and medical where there is the maximum need for a laboratory and laboratory equipments. Its a common fact that the basic requirement in a laboratory is the laboratory apparatus and equipment. No experiments can be performed or no studies can be done in a laboratory without using these apparatus. The lab apparatuses are used during the experimentation process to collect data, to hold samples, to heat or mix solutions, to measure, and various other such tasks.

Depending on the subject and the experiment, the laboratory apparatus can be classified as physics laboratory, biology laboratory, chemistry laboratory, medical lab apparatus etc. There are a large number of apparatus which are used in every laboratory for each categories. When we talk about these apparatus, we imply lab tools, equipments and support systems that help the user, be it the researcher or the scholar to perform different experiments.

There are certain laboratory apparatus, designed specific to subjects. Like for instance, the popular physics lab equipments are Ammeter, Voltmeter, Rheostat, Galvanometer etc. Similarly, for Chemistry, the most widely used lab equipments are Alcohol Lamps, Evaporating Dish, Centrifuge, Calorimeter, Filter Paper etc.

The hospital or medical laboratory apparatus are altogether different like as there are histology lab equipments, blood bank equipments, tissue culture equipments for medical related experiments. However, there are certain common lab apparatus which are invariably required in every type of experiments in a laboratory like a microscope, balance, beaker, flask, petri dish, safety equipments, tripod stands, test tube, etc. Besides these, a laboratory also consists of filtration equipments, cooling apparatus, lab consumables, mixing equipment, heating equipments and so on.

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Medical Equipments - The Three Important Categories

Man has invented different things right from the Stone Age. Chief among these are various instruments, devices and methods pertaining to health and fitness. The different medical equipments and instruments man has invented over the ages have helped him to survive and increased his longevity. Diseases that were considered incurable are now curable owing to these methods and machines. The instruments come in all shapes and sizes - they could be something as simple as a scalpel or something as convoluted as a dialyzing machine. In their own way, they have helped man combat illnesses.
How do we define a medical instrument? Simply put, a medical instrument is a device that is specifically designed to meet the requirements of diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of illnesses. Based on this, these devices can be put into different classes. They could be diagnosing devices, treating devices and monitoring equipments. Each of these devices has to follow stringent standards in order to qualify as a medical instrument; after all, these devices are meant to save lives. They need to comply with various safety standards.

Diagnostic Equipments
 These are the most basic kinds of medical equipments. Their purpose is to identify and determine medical conditions in the patient. They help the physicians to conclude or confirm the underlying cause for an illness. Thus, they help in determining the class of a particular condition, which helps in deciding the further course of treatment.  

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There are numerous machines and tools that are used to determine a patient's medical condition. Classification tests are conducted to observe the symptoms of the patient. Common instruments that are used for diagnosis include the stethoscope which is used to check the pulse rate, the sphygmomanometer for measuring blood pressure, thermometer for measuring body temperature and so on. In contemporary medicine, patients are made to undergo various neurological and pathological tests as well. The devices used for these tests also fall under the category of diagnostic equipment. Some of the devices that can be included here are X-ray machines, CT scanners, ultrasound scanners, MRI machines, etc.

Life Support Equipment
Life support devices play a vital role in keeping specific patients alive. The main purpose of this type of equipment is to maintain and support the patient's bodily functions when specific organs fail to respond. There are several support medical equipments used in the medical field, which include machines used for anesthesia, ECMO machines, dialysis machines, medical ventilators, cardio-pulmonary machines and so on.

Medical Monitoring Equipment

Medical monitoring equipment also share the same degree of importance as the two other kinds of devices mentioned above. These devices are used to measure the current state of the patient. They indicate current signs within the patient, which help in the progress of the treatment, or to retreat it if the intended results are not being achieved. Blood pressure monitoring devices and EEGs and ECGs are commonly used in the medical industry.