MarB 13 – Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory Exercise 1: Laboratory Equipment

Vocabulary flashcards featuring key cell and molecular biology laboratory equipment, operational principles, key accessories, and facility requirements based on Lab Exercise 1.

An instrument that amplifies target DNA sequences exponentially through repeated cycles of precise temperature control, used for detecting pathogenic organisms, preparing templates for sequencing, monitoring real-time gene activity, and validating biodiversity.

Heated Lid

A clamping component of a thermal cycler that is closed and tightened over sample reaction tubes during operation to prevent liquid evaporation.

Microtome

An instrument used to slice paraffin-embedded biological specimens into uniform micrometric cross-sections suitable for high-resolution light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and pathological evaluations.

Water Flotation Bath

A heated water bath used in microtomy to float and expand ribbons of cut tissue sections to remove wrinkles before mounting onto glass slides.

Biosafety Cabinet

A localized sterile enclosure utilizing directional HEPA-filtered airflow to isolate hazardous microbes, protect operators from biohazardous aerosols, and provide primary physical containment across biosafety levels BSL-1 to BSL-4.

Cryostat

A refrigerated microtome operating at sub-zero temperatures (typically $-15^\circ\text{C}$ to $-30^\circ\text{C}$) that rapidly freezes and sections fresh tissue biopsies without paraffin embedding, preserving heat-sensitive components like lipids and enzymes.

Optimal Cutting Temperature (OCT) Compound

A mounting medium used in cryostat microtomy to secure fresh tissue specimens onto a specimen chuck before freezing solid on a quick-freeze bar.

Analytical Balance

A high-precision balance enclosed in a glass draft shield that determines minute sample masses down to sub-milligram fractions for standard solution preparation, volumetric calibration, and gravimetric quantitative analysis.

Automated Cell Counter

An electronic benchtop device that analyzes biological samples loaded on disposable slides to automatically calculate cell concentration and cell viability, offering faster and more consistent counts than manual hemocytometers.

Electroporator

An instrument that applies short electrical pulses to cell suspensions in cuvettes to temporarily increase cell membrane permeability, enabling the introduction of foreign DNA or other molecules.

Fume Hood

A ventilated laboratory workspace equipped with a movable transparent sash that draws toxic chemical gases, vapors, and volatile dusts away from the user and vents them outside or through specialized filters.

Water Bath

A temperature-controlled liquid reservoir filled with distilled water that maintains uniform thermal conditions for sample incubation, reagent warming, gentle thawing of frozen specimens, and controlled denaturation of biomolecules.

Autoclave

A heavy-duty sterilization chamber that uses high-pressure saturated steam (typically $121^\circ\text{C}$ at $15\,\text{psi}$ for $15\text{--}20\,\text{minutes}$) to destroy all forms of biological life, including resistant bacterial endospores.

Spectrophotometer

An instrument that measures the intensity of light absorbed or transmitted through a liquid sample at specific wavelengths to quantify chemical or biological concentrations, sample purity, and bacterial culture density.

A260/A280 Ratio

A spectrophotometric light absorption ratio evaluated in molecular biology workflows to assess the purity of nucleic acid and protein preparations.

Optical Density (OD600)

A spectrophotometric absorbance measurement performed at a wavelength of $600\,\text{nm}$ to monitor cell growth kinetics in microbial suspension cultures over time.

Vortex Mixer

A compact device with a rubber cup that rapidly homogenizes small liquid volumes or resuspends biological pellets by generating an orbital vortex in microcentrifuge tubes or vials.

UV Transilluminator

An ultraviolet illumination platform used to visualize fluorescently stained nucleic acid bands in agarose gels following electrophoresis, facilitating gel band excision and documentation.

Microplate Reader

An analytical instrument that simultaneously measures reactions across multi-well plates (such as 96-well plates) using absorbance, fluorescence, or luminescence detection modes for high-throughput assays like ELISAs and Bradford assays.

High Shear Homogenizer

A mechanical sample processing device with a rotor-stator generator shaft that applies extreme shear stress to disrupt tough biological tissues, release intracellular DNA/RNA/proteins, and reduce immiscible droplets to sub-micron sizes.

Laboratory Freezer

An ultra-low temperature preservation unit maintaining tightly regulated conditions (such as $-20^\circ\text{C}$ or $-80^\circ\text{C}$) with non-defrosting cooling systems to arrest enzymatic decay and preserve biological samples, reagents, and vaccines long-term.

Electrophoresis Machine

A separation system comprising a buffer tank and power supply that resolves charged nucleic acid or protein fragments through an agarose or polyacrylamide matrix according to molecular size and electrical charge.

Microscope

An optical device with multiple objective lenses that magnifies cells, tissues, and microorganisms to facilitate cellular-level morphological examinations and the study of processes such as cell division.

Centrifuge

An instrument that spins liquid samples at high speeds to generate centrifugal force, separating mixture components by density and sedimenting cells, organelles, or precipitated nucleic acids into a concentrated pellet.

Micropipette

A precision handheld liquid-handling tool that accurately measures and dispenses micro-scale volumes of liquids using a two-stop plunger mechanism, reducing contamination when assembling molecular assays.

Dedicated Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory

An isolated, ultra-sterile workspace essential for protecting delicate DNA, RNA, and proteins from enzymatic degradation by nucleases, avoiding amplicon cross-contamination, and isolating high-precision instruments from general laboratory interference.