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So I'm making lists of what equipment is a MUST HAVE for the lab I'm hoping to build. The lists tend however to get longer instead of shorter and due to financing I need to prioritize LOLAfter reading loads here and Perry's post here:Here is my current check list:digital scale/balance weight paper/glasscontainers (glass, plastic, metal)slice and mince knivesmicro/glassplatesVials/tubes rackssamples containers/storage boxesmixers (magnetic stirrers, blender like, homogenizer)shakercentrifugefreeze drier/ dehydratatorhot plates (combination with magnetic stirrer)thermometerpH meterpouring, stirring and measuring equipment (pipettes, spatulas, spoons, syringes, straws, funnels)cleaning equipment (gloves, detergents, cloths, paper towels, alcohol, bags)water distillation unitfiltration equipment (strainers, filtration paper)autoclaveelectric oven/microwaverefrigerator and freezerstopwatch/timerdishwashersafety ware (coat, googles, masks, special gloves)Now I need (?) to add some special equipment for the biotechnological side of my projectsteam distillation unitvacuum distilation unitCO2 distillation unitbiofermentation unitalgae bioreactorminiplant (some way to accurately prepare for upscaling, from mixing, heating to filling device)tubingAny ideas?Thank you hugely!
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It sounds like you're doing a lot of natural stuff there. A few thoughts if you need to split between need right now, and nice to have...
digital scale/balance weight paper/glasscontainers (glass, plastic, metal)slice and mince knivesmicro/glassplatesVials/tubes rackssamples containers/storage boxes -You'll never have enough of these, poundland do plastic takeaway containers in packs of 10mixers (magnetic stirrers, blender like, homogenizer)shaker - or possibly an ultrasonic bath may be more flexiblecentrifuge - Nice to have, can live withoutfreeze drier/ dehydratatorhot plates (combination with magnetic stirrer) Argos or aldi do stand alone single rings. I bought an induction one for £30thermometer - Mercury free (red alcohol or cheap digital will do) - you will need more than onepH meterpouring, stirring and measuring equipment (pipettes, spatulas, spoons, syringes, straws, funnels)cleaning equipment (gloves, detergents, cloths, paper towels, alcohol, bags)water distillation unit - or a deioniser pack, which is what most people use, unless this is a micro labfiltration equipment (strainers, filtration paper)autoclave Only need this for a micro lab. At a pinch use a pressure cooker from Argoselectric oven/microwaverefrigerator and freezerstopwatch/timerdishwasher - Nice to have, not essentialsafety ware (coat, googles, masks, special gloves)I'll also add ovens for stability, an insecticutor (£10) , and a large roll of plastic bags Ones that are vest type not the ones with folded fluted ends - good for filling bottles.A small toolkit and a stanley knife will always be used!Also nice to have - A tube sealer. At a pinch a cheap ebay bag sealer will do -
If you become serious, a Stability/Environmental Chamber will be one of your largest investments. I was lucky enough to get one in clearance for about $1000. Of course it uses 220V and is the size of a Washing Machine.
I have a hot plate BUT honestly I have a digitally controlled water bath that is used much more. When I was at Eli Lilly, we were banned from using hotplates. With the viscosity of many products a stirring hot plate will simply bog down. Look for sales on Ebay. I bought a second digital water bath lately for less than $100 USD>
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Microformulations - so you would recommend a shaking water bath over a hot plate/magnetic stirrer?
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Its a very personal thing, and comes down to preference, working style etc. Each camp has their preference and rigorously defends it.
Hotplate: Can burn stuff if you heat too fast, but with metal beakers, vigorous stirring (I've used them in conjunction with overhead mixers) and if you can get one, a thermostatic probe- very quick to heat stuff up and turn around product
Hotwater bath. Can use glass and plastic beakers safely in there as well, Difficult to stir samples in there whilst they are bobbing around. Can be slower to heat stuff up, especially large water phases, and if you don't have a lid for them can steam the place up quickly. Also need to pay attention to keeping the water clean, otherwise- well just keep it clean, trust me on that.
Pragmatically if you are making smaller batches (1-2Kg) you may find a water bath safer, which is why a lot of companies go this route. Anything larger and you may find a good hotplate better, quicker and more flexible.
I'm a hotplate kinda guy, with one proviso- avoid the halogen ones. You'll spend a lot of time staring at the beaker and hotplate when making things, Staring into a partially obscured powerful light source is an unpleasant experience, and you will hate the equipment very quickly.
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Eli Lilly banned them since someone burned the lab down with one back in the 70's.
That aside, I think with the waxy emulsifiers we use a hotplate is better. It will not burn. Also, hotplates have a tendency to "creep" and are harder to maintain at a fixed temperature.
I use a Precision Digital Bath Large enough hold 3 1L Beakers side by side. For agitation I use a lab brace to hold the beaker in place and use my IKA Lab mixer.
What I like best is that I can set the water bath for 75C, wait 20 minutes (I know, sloooooow) and then have both phases at 75C, plus or minus 1C. This greatly simplifies the process.
I also agree about the water in the bath. It should be changed at LEAST daily and the tank wiped out with a Sodium Hypochlorite solution.
Outside of a Biological process, I have generally not used a shaking water bath.
These bathes can be found occasionally on ebay affordably;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fisher-Scientific-ISOTEMP-Digital-Water-Bath-Model-202S-/290627070410?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43aab929ca
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THANK YOU guys, you are the best! All this goes to my list and I will look at all the differences and prices too.Is Ebay trustworthy? I had some bad experiences with US equipment that just didn't work on EU current or had technical difficulties I couldn't solve on my own...Does any of you have any experiences with distillation units?One of the major keys is that I need to extract some of my own raw materials due to cost prohibitive quantities by manufacturers and quality control issues (also marketing USP's).Thanks again!
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When you say distillation units, I'm assuming you mean for water?
They're pretty much maintenance free, just need descaling every so often. Absolute power hogs though, as in reality you've got a kettle going on full for an extended period of time, until the water bowser is full. Most of them cool the condensor with tap water, so if your water is metered that can be a bit pricey as well.
Most, if not all use a deioniser pack similar to what manufacturing use. You can get small benchtop units that work well, or just go into the factory and draw DI water when needed.
If you are looking to distill off your natural products, a simple condensor set up and heating mantle will do the job slowly. A rotary evaporator (One that works under reduced pressure) will also do the job, but much quicker.
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We leased from Siemens when I was in Production. However in my lab I buy it in Car boys and stock it. As busy as I am (45 plus hours in the lab), I still am not using enough water to get a lab water system.
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I would be careful with Ebay unless it is originally European voltage. I have in turn had some issues with European equipment (or more exactly canadian) as well.
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Following on from microformulations, I've used deionised water in gallon packs from the auto store if I only had a small quantity of product to make up.
Its the difference between try-out samples, proper lab size batches, and mini pilot batches
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I found a local supply company that has 5 gallon carboys. Even with Pilot samples it has been affordable. I have calculated the price out to 0.18 USD per pound.
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Guys, you're awesome! :) I'll look around for prices on distilled water and deionizer packs.One question though: if I need water to use for shower gels or water based creams, I would need distilled water right? Or deionized? (slightly confused)Cos I saw water distillers like these:I mean indeed for distilling pure aromatic materials from different natural materials like leaves, flowers, goods, herbs, fruit etc.? I have now only old fashioned stuff but I'd like to upgrade it to lab glass.The biofermentation is also tricky, I now use the old 'wine/beer brewing' way, but also here I'm trying to find more slick lab equipment. That is easily cleaned and is sturdy.Some pics on what I mean:copper distill I have now:would like to transition to:orOr vacuum distilling unit (for low yealding plant material)Or CO2 distillation unit: no idea?bioferementationmy beer brewer:to lab scale:Thanks again :)
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For your purposes, Deionised = Distilled. Distilled water is probably the gold standard, but its more expensive to produce, so every factory I know uses a deioniser plant (A reverse osmosis bed usually). A good deioniser will be pretty much up to the same sort of standard as a distiller
If you are really pushed, tap water may be good enough for shower gels, provided its not too hard, as detergent products are pretty electrolyte rich. I'd be adding safeguards like sequestrants (EDTA salts) to be on the safe side though.
As for distilling naturals? Well you're on your own with that one! Closest I've ever got to that sort of thing was boiling up my own extracts by putting plant material in filter bags in a beaker. A big version of making a cup of tea. Only pearl of wisdom I have, is if you want cucumber extract, don't boil that up anywhere near civilised society. It smells, well, rank. How to lose friends and influence people 101!
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmeZkYPXc_1pZfr3G_Kx-VRy1kSj8c-c-wZc9__sdbiabnjDsguN6O-GF9Gw looks like the sort of thing I used in school, but with a vac pump on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_evaporator
Is what I used in University / working in a pharmaceutical lab. The rotavap may be a bit quicker, though can be a bit finicky at times
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Duncan, I could hug you :) We have very hard water here with loads of iron too, so I typically add sequestrants.That rotary evaporator looks very interesting indeed! I'll ask around, see if I can get to see one upclose and learn how it works ;)Yes, I know I've taken a weird task upon me, but then it might become lucrative in the BBE (bio-based economy).Cucumbers and the likes are not easy to work with (just like any Cucurbitaceae) due to their natural high water content. What I hope to accomplish is something like these guys do:I've been doing some distilling of frozen dried fruit but it's finicky work and I don't have the right equipment. Micro bio-fermentation is also a very interesting technique, I just need to refine the separation issues (extracting pure and clean compounds). Hope to get my foot in the door with some labs with good analytic equipment too.So much to look forward to :)Thanks again for all the help and inspiration!!!
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If you have a local university with a chemistry department, they should have a rotavap they can show off if needed.
Its also worthwhile cultivating the link, as you may be able to get analysis work done cheap.
If you are looking at machinery, trade shows are always worth a visit. Events like SCS Formulate in the UK (Coming up middle of November) although primarily for ingredients, will have a few exhibitors selling shiny mixing things made out of 316 stainless
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That is a great idea, Duncan! I bet someone has it on the campus. Cultivating & networking is my primary goal atm ;) Trade shows are a no go this year for me (I need to prioritize finances) but I hope to catch up next year (added SCS Formulate UK to my bookmarks, thank you!).First some very exciting talks with potential investors and getting my business plan approved.And loads of window shopping thanks to you, evil enablers LOL
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