Alm:Lab equipment

Hints from a technician in the Endy lab: Basic plasticware (gloves, pipette tips, eppendorf tubes) we get from [ISC Bioexpress]. They are by far the cheapest but to get those prices you have to deal with the company rep. who issues a price quote. USA Scientific (a sister company of Eppendorf) is also a good source for plasticware and racks, etc and they issue a blank quote for all of MIT, so you just need to be in touch with the rep to get that quote number but it is only good for certain items. A lot of people simply use the VWR stockroom in [Building 56] and just go and buy what they need as they need it. You can also just start signing up for accounts with different companies online and start requesting their catalogs so you can get a feel for what they offer. With most companies you can also use Purchase Orders if you prefer or order through webpages with a credit card.

We should put through the application for an MIT Visa so we will have a more convenient way of spending from our accounts for things we can't get from SAPWeb or are cheaper somewhere else.

I will sign up for catalogs with various companies and be the point person to deal with sales reps.
Hopefully we can save some money up front this way. There are deals we can get as a lab just starting up. Sean 18:18, 29 June 2006 (EDT)

Miscellaneous

• Desk chairs: Office Depot (may be cheaper to go through regular site than the SAPwebpage)
• Lab stools (look on ebay)
• Telephone [MIT's phone service page]
  • All requests for new telephone service or changes in existing service should go through your department's Administrative Officer (AO). Email customer service at telecom-csr@mit.edu or call 617-253-3670 for April-White Frager (Civil's rep).

Lab-wide Equipment

• PCR machine (get loaners from companies, MJ great but only available used, Eppendorf used to be hard to use)
• Heat Block
• Stir Plate / Hot Plate
• Waterbath (s)
• Incubators
  • [Torrey Pines] brand, models IN35 and IN45: 4C-70C, 27L or 55L, see [description]
• -20C Freezer (VWR or used)
• 4C Refrigerator (glass front?) (VWR or used)
• Centrifuge for culture tubes (swinging bucket rotor?)
• Table-top microcentrifuge (one refrigerated and one not, Eppendorf?)
  • [refurb Beckman Microfuge R] from pegasusscientific.com
• Nanodrop
• Test tube roller
• Pressure cooker/hot plate for low cost autoclaving or small autoclave on wheels like on 4th floor
• Microbalance (enclosed, for up to __ g)
  • NorthShore Care Supply: FREE GROUND SHIPPING on our entire line of Mettler Toledo Lab Balances. Coupon Code H25 should be used at online checkout or over the phone. [web page]
• Balance (capacity?)

Bench Top Equipment

Mostly purchase from VWR

• Mini spin
• 2 Bunsen burners (I wouldn't recommend fireboys, they are nice and all, but expensive and are finicky)
• Gas canisters (supplier?)
• 2 Vortexers
• 3 Pipette sets (2.5, 20, 100?, 200 and 1000 ul) find out what tips work, get samples)
  • Gilson Pipetman = $259-$295 at pipetman.com
  • Eppendorf Research series = $254 at VWR
  • Finnpipette = $216 ea at VWR
  • Socorex Acura = $160 ea at VWR
  • VWR brand = $138 ea or set of three (20,200,1000) + tips and stand = $383
• Pipet man (motorized pipetter)
• Thermometers (5?)
• 3 Timers

Disposables/Plasticware

[ISC Bioexpress]

• Pipette tips (with/without filter)
• Gloves: Sean (S in latex, M in nitrile)
• PCR tubes/plates
• Eppendorf Tubes
• Conical Tubes (Falcon)
• VWR brand lab markers
• Lab Tape (Tape holder)
• Kimwipes
• Cryovials
• Tough Spots
• Razor Blades
• Bottle top filters (Westnet)
• Freezer boxes (-20 and -80)
• Racks (plastic for various size tubes)
• Petri Plates (BD/Falcon?)
• Pasteur Pipettes (and bulbs)

Glassware/Pyrex

Westnet locally (best prices/service), direct from Corning, through Sigma, also maybe available used

• Erlenmeyer flasks (baffled for cultures and 1 L for making chemical stocks)
• Graduated Cylinders
• Media Bottles (we order from 50 ml up to 1 L)
• Beakers (maybe?)
• Test tubes

Other items

• Safety Glasses $7 at VWR
• Gloves (latex or nitrile, powder free)
• Lab coats
• Test Tubes
• Glass Pipettes or Disposable Plastic Pipettes
• Plastic Bins (greatly help with organization)
• Qiagen Kits

Chemicals

[Sigma/Aldrich] (bad service, $10 2-day shipping) or VWR

• Media reagents
• Antibiotics
• Protoplast fusion ingredients: EDTA, sodium maleate, etc.
• EtBr or SYBR Green/Gold

Enzymes

• Basic set of restriction enzymes
• PCR reagents: DNAPols, dNTPs
• Ligase

Shared with other labs or borrowed to begin with

• -80C Freezer (Chisholm)
• large centrifuge
• gel reader box and computer, UV table? (Polz) (ask Sri what to get, not VWR)
• MilliQ water (Polz)
• Other spectrophotometer (or portable A600 spec ~$700)

Suppliers and Specialties

• VWR stockroom at MIT : most equipment, chemicals, convenient but not necessarily cheapest, can pick up in 56-070 or deliver?
  • ordered catalog Sean 16:27, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• USA Scientific Now in Ecat:Sciquest (like Eppendorf just cheaper) : plastic racks, ToughSpot labels, plasticware
  • registered Sean

• ISC BioExpress : pipet tips, gloves, plasticware
  • registered and account approved Sean 17:02, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• Sigma : chemicals as alternative to VWR, Pyrex supplier too
  • registered as new lab Sean 16:27, 30 June 2006 (EDT), received contract number for up to 70% off list, not posted for privacy
  • ordered more catalogs for equipment, etc. to add to Sigma and Life Sciences ordered earlier Sean 15:59, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

• Westnet : local source of Pyrex glassware, good service and cheapest

• NEB/Fermentas : restriction enzymes, they have a set discount for MIT, same-day shipping if order by 10 am, $100 on-line orders get free shipping
  • catalog requested Sean 16:27, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• Qiagen kits : get through VWR stockroom or now through Ecat:Sciquest
  • ordered catalog Sean 15:59, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

• Invitrogen: primers, Molecular Probes, free copy of Vector NTI, agarose, dNTPs, RT-PCR kits contact steve.smith@invitrogen for quote, should be $0.23/bp for 25 nmol scale, $0.37/bp for 50 nmol scale

• C & H for carts and bins
  • catalog requested Sean 16:27, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• GE Health Care division (formerly Amersham): radioactivity, dNTPs, templiphi

• Stratagene: competent cells, kit for single base mutagenesis, Promega
  • requested catalog Sean 16:49, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• Ambion : RNA company
  • requested literature Sean 17:06, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

• Cole-Parmer: industrial equipment and supplies, fittings, tubing
  • requested catalog and registered (just username and pw) Sean 16:49, 30 June 2006 (EDT)

• Upchurch: chromatography and fluid xfer components

• Fisher Scientific
  • ordered several pieces of literature Sean 15:59, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

• Macherey-Nagel DNA/RNA Purification kits
  • contacted US Sales rep, there is also a New England technical rep, they're sending catalog/prices Sean 15:59, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

• ML Unique/hard-to-find useful lab products, have catalog

• PCR machines: ABI for RT, Brinkmann Eppendorf rep = Meagan Hennessey (800-645-3050 x2681 or hennessey.m@eppendorf.com), Bio-Rad (bought MJ) rep Janusz_Wicher@bio-rad also for protein gel equipment, power supplies

• Roche = protein

• Pierce = protein

• Owl gel equipment from VWR

Links to many companies at Hopkins site

Used lab equipment sources

• [labx] Marketplace, can place wanted ads
• [ebay]
• [Sci-Bay] Surplus/new