In microbiology labs, there are a lot of different kinds of tools that are used for different tasks; mostly, they are precise and controlled. They come up in different capacities like 125ml Erlenmeyer Flask, micropipettes, graduated cylinders, pH meters, and microscopes.
Useful Lab Instruments
1. Analytical Balance
An analytical balance is a type of scale that is often used to measure masses that are less than a milligram.
The measuring pan on these types of scales is protected by a clear cover that keeps small particles and air currents from collecting on the pan.
Instead of measuring the mass itself, an electric analytical balance measures the force that is needed to move the mass away from the scale.
The force needed to balance the mass of the substance is made with an electromagnet, and the force that is made is shown on the scale.
Analytical balances are used in laboratories because they are very accurate and based on modern technology. They are used to do things like weight test materials and sample amounts, make formulas, figure out density, analyze purity, test quality control, and test materials for conformity.
2. Autoclave
An autoclave is a pressurized chamber used to sterilize and disinfect things. It does this by combining time, pressure, and steam.
Autoclaves use steam to make sure that they are clean. The basic idea behind an autoclave is that everything inside comes into direct contact with the steam for a certain amount of time, no matter if it’s a liquid, a piece of plastic, or a piece of glass.
Autoclaves are most often used to sterilize medical or lab equipment. They can sterilize a lot of different things at once.
3. Bunsen Burner
A lab tool called a “Bunsen burner” is named after Robert Bunsen. It is a single open flame that is lit by gas.
This burner is made of a metal tube with a flat base and a gas inlet at the bottom of the tube. It may have an adjustable valve. There are holes on the sides of the tube that can be changed with a collar to control how much air can get in.
Once the burner is hooked up to a gas source, the gas pressure forces the gas up to the top, where a match or lighter is used to light the flame.
It is often used for things like cleaning, burning, and heating. It is often used for micro-loop sterilization in medical or microbiology labs.
4. Centrifuge
A centrifuge is a machine that lets an object spin around a single axis while a force is applied in the opposite direction of the axis. A laboratory centrifuge is powered by a motor and can spin a sample of liquid, which separates the different parts of the mixture.
A centrifuge works on the sedimentation process. When a liquid is poured, for example, in 50 ml centrifuge tubes, they spin quickly, and the denser particles move away from the center, while smaller, less dense particles are forced toward the center.
So, the heavier particles sink to the bottom, and the lighter ones rise to the top.
In a lab tabletop centrifuge, the sample tubes are set up at an angle so that the particles don’t have to travel as far before they hit bottom.
5. Colony Counter
A colony counter counts the number of CFU (colony forming units) on agar or culture plates to figure out how dense a liquid culture is.
This machine can hold plates of different sizes, which are scanned on top with UV, white light, and/or fluorescent light.
One can count by hand by putting pressure on the touch screen or with a digital counter.
Most of the time, a colony counter is used to count the number of colonies on a culture plate to figure out how many microorganisms are in liquid culture.
