Lab Safety & Equipment in Clinical Chemistry Laboratory

Flashcards covering clinical chemistry laboratory safety, handwashing procedures, hazard indices, types of glassware and plasticware, balances, pipetting techniques, and centrifuge maintenance.

Infection Transmission Protocol

Hand contact is the primary method of infection transmission; handwashing is the best way to break the chain of infection.

Hazard Index (0-4)

A scale indicating degree of hazards: 0 = No hazard, 1 = Slight hazard, 2 = Moderate hazard, 3 = Serious hazard, 4 = Extreme hazard (Mnemonic: No SMS Ex’S).

Kimax / Pyrex

Borosilicate glass commonly used in the clinical laboratory.

Corex

Aluminosilicate glass used for laboratory supplies.

Low actinic glassware

Amber colored glassware used to protect light-sensitive contents.

Vycor

Acid and alkali resistant glassware.

Flint glass

A type of soda lime glass used in laboratory supplies.

Analytical Balance Operating Temperature

The ambient temperature should be maintained between $18^{\circ}\text{C}$ and $30^{\circ}\text{C}$.

Aspirating

The process where liquid is drawn into a pipet through the application of a slight vacuum, never by mouth.

Meniscus

The curved surface of a liquid at its interface with the atmosphere; the eye must be level with this surface to avoid error.

Parallax

An error condition where liquid volume appears smaller than actual if viewed from above the meniscus, and larger if viewed from below.

TC (To Contain) Pipet

A pipet designed to hold a particular volume but does not dispense the exact volume marked.

TD (To Deliver) Pipet

A pipet designed to deliver the exact amount of volume it holds into a container.

Blow-out Pipette

A pipette with continuous etched rings at the top indicating the last drop must be expelled to achieve the exact volume.

Self-draining Pipette

A pipette without etched rings where the user allows the contents to drain by gravity.

Serologic Pipette

A graduated or measuring pipette with calibration marks extending to the tip; it has a larger orifice and is generally a blow-out pipette.

Mohr Pipette

A graduated pipette calibrated between two marks with no graduation to the tip; it is self-draining and the tip should not touch the vessel wall.

Volumetric Pipette

A TD and self-draining transfer pipette designed to dispense one exact volume without subdivisions; it has the greatest degree of accuracy.

Ostwald-Folin Pipette

A transfer pipette used with biological fluids having a viscosity greater than water, such as blood.

Pasteur Pipette

A pipette with no calibration marks used to transfer biological fluids without considering a specific volume.

Automatic Pipette

The most routinely used pipette in the lab, often using disposable tips; classified as macro ($>1\,\text{mL}$) or micro ($\mu\text{L}$).

Volumetric Flask

A flask calibrated to hold (TC) one exact volume of liquid, featuring a round bottom and a long thin neck with an etched calibration line.

Erlenmeyer Flask and Griffin Beakers

Labware designed to hold various volumes rather than one exact amount, often used for reagent preparation.

Centrifugation

A process using centrifugal force to separate solid matter from a liquid suspension based on density.

Fixed-angle Centrifuge

A centrifuge where tubes are held at a fixed angle of $25^{\circ}$ to $52^{\circ}$, typically reaching speeds of $9000g$.

Swinging Bucket Centrifuge

Also known as a horizontal centrifuge; tubes are in a vertical position at rest and horizontal during operation with a speed of $1650g$.

Ultracentrifuge

A centrifuge that generates the highest speeds and is considered the reference method for lipoprotein analysis.

Centrifuge Disinfection

Cleaned using $10\%$ bleach.

Tachometer

An instrument (or strobe light) used to check the RPM of a centrifuge during quarterly calibration.