Chapter 8 Laboratory Facilities

Referring to the questions in Chapter 3, Questions 1, 2, and 3 can be answered NO for this example, assuming chemical reactions, mixing, and physical processing are not intended to be part of the laboratory facilities. Question 4 should be answered YES, since oxygen is considered hazardous as an oxidizing gas. 

In this chapter, we begin by describing the laboratory facilities and equipment needed for biochemical and molecular biological work. This is followed by advice on safe working in the laboratory, and discussion of the safety regulations that usually apply in a biochemistry laboratory. We describe a range of common laboratory activities, but do not include some important topics, such as chromatography, electrophoresis and photometric methods, which are considered later in specific chapters. The chapter concludes with a description of radioactive methods, and advice about alternatives to the use of radioactivity. 

Acknowledgments This chapter was supported by grants from the U.S. Agency for International Develop-ment, the National Science Foundation, and the A.W. Mellon Foundation to the Woods Hole Research Center. Further support was provided by the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq), to P. Moutinho. E. Cheng and V. Mendes Jr. assisted with data collection. K. Schwalbe and G. Carvalho assisted with data analysis and graphics. Dan Richter provided laboratory facilities. The Woods Hole Research Center and the Amazon Institute of Environmental Research (IPAM) provided institutional and logistical support. 

Many modern procedures which have now become standard methodology in organic chemistry require dry reaction conditions, and often an inert atmosphere. This has had a dramatic effect on the way efficient laboratory facilities are arranged. Not so long ago reactions involving anhydrous, inert conditions were rare and it was expedient to arrange the equipment for such procedures on a one-off basis. However, now that this type of reaction is common place, it makes sense to set up the laboratory in such a way that reactions under inert conditions can be carried out as a matter of routine. This chapter is written with this principle in mind. Much of the equipment introduced here will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters. 

The preparation of polymer latices is a more lengthy process and requires more specialised apparatus and laboratory facilities. A student experiment for the preparation of polystyrene latex by emulsion polymerisation (sec Chapter 4) is described by M. W. J. Eskcr and J. H. A. Picper in Physical Chemistry Enriching Topics from Colloid and Surface Chemistry , cd. H. van Olphen and K. J. Mysels, Theorex, California, 1975. 

In addition to fire protection there are other potential hazards which may also be reduced by construction details and choices of materials. In Section C of this chapter, under the topic Laboratory Facilities for each class of laboratories, many of the features stipulated characteristics of finish materials. As a general principle, laboratory floor coverings, wall finishes, and table and bench tops... 

The "P" has been replaced with "BSL" or Biosafety Level. There are four biosafety levels which are defined according to a combination of facility design, laboratory practices and techniques, equipment and health and safety controls. It is not practical to try to completely describe all of the features and definitions pertaining to biocontainment laboratories in a chapter dedicated to an overview of design. Therefore, we will concentrate on the elements of building design for "maximum containment" or BSL-4 facilities. 

By the nature of its content, with contributions from experienced practitioners, the book aims to serve as a practical reference for researchers, post docs, PhD-students and postgraduates as well as risk assessors working on surfactants in environmental laboratories, environmental agencies, the surfactant industry, the water industry and sewage treatment facilities. Each chapter includes extensive references to the literature and also contains detailed investigations. The broad spectrum of the book and its application to environmental priority compounds makes it unique in many ways. 

The FDA also carries out inspections on establishments to ensure compliance with regulations. The establishments include laboratories, clinical trial centers, and manufacturing facilities. Further information on establishment inspection is discussed in Chapter 10. 

Some of the funding for facilities, centers, and experiments has flowed to universities, while other funding has gone to government laboratories. For example, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials was established at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. Work done in this laboratory by Mathew Maye and Oleg Gang has been discussed earlier in this chapter. 

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