Laboratory operations, requiring

The study of reactions with rates that He outside the time frame of ordinary laboratory operations requires specialized instrumentation and techniques. This chapter presents the wide range of methods currently in use for very fast reactions. Extraordinarily slow reactions, on the other hand, have received very little attention. For them, one may resort to measuring a tiny concentration of product over normal times, as in the method of initial rates. 

Some laboratory operations require the use of goggles, which effectively protect the eyes from splashes or missiles from all sides, or even complete face shields. The latter are uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time, but they do give superior protection for jobs such as making concentrated solutions of sodium hydroxide. Many goggles are designed to be worn over regular glasses and are reasonably comfortable. 

Processing summary this section may consist of a general paragraph describing the commercial process and the specific variety received as the test commodity. The processing summary will continue with a step-by-step description of the processing laboratory operations required to simulate the production of the required fractions. 

Due to their wide range of analytical challenges centralized analytical laboratories are required to adopt a series of QM systems simultaneously. For example, the Competence Center Analytics of BASF AG in Ludwigshafen is certified and accredited to operate under four different QM systems. Undoubtedly, QM systems play a vital role in a modern industrial analytical laboratory. The sale of many products of the chemical industry is not possible without a GLP-certified analytical laboratory. However, in practical tenus the different QM systems can potentially reduce the efficiency of the analytical process and lead to increased costs. 

Operating costs are best done in-house, because company personnel are familiar with corporate philosophies of staffing, maintenance, control laboratory operations. administrative requirements, and many other support aspects of running the business. If adequately staffed, the in-house study group should handle operating costs rather than try to teach a contractor company requirements. 

Buildings. Company philosophies on operating and maintenance as well as control and satellite laboratory operations and administrative requirements will set building requirements. The licensor will make suggestions, but the operating company will have to take the lead in setting up these requirements. 

Certain operations require that the workspace be at a lower pressure than surrounding workspaces, e.g., radioisotope laboratories. In these cases, the exhaust flow rate should exceed the supply flow rate, but this excess should he within 10%. The additional resistance resulting from this imbalance should be considered in the design of the exhaust system, specifically in the selection of exhaust fans. 

Tautomers are defined as isomers which are readily interconvertible. It is clear that the distinction between tautomerism and ordinary isomerism is very vague indeed, and that it depends on the interpretation of the adverb readily. It is customary to designate as tautomers those isomers whose half-lives (with respect to interconversion) are under ordinary circumstances less than the times required for laboratory operations to be carried out (some minutes or hours), so that the separation of the isomers from the equilibrium mixtures is difficult. The distinction between tautomers and ordinary isomers has no molecular significance whatever, since it is dependent on the accidental ordinary rate of human activity. 

Throughout the book, the person in charge of day-to-day operations is referred to as the laboratory operator. This is not an administrator or supervisor located in an office down the hall or in another building. The laboratory operator must be heavily involved in all aspects of planning. Only he can estimate space requirements, check a proposed layout for practical and safe operation, and recommend allowances for future expansion. Regardless of the amount of professional assistance available, the laboratory operator can expect to burn much midnight oil. During construction he must be available at all times to take care of those numerous problems nobody had predicted. 

Planning and building a laboratory requires a cooperative effort involving administrators, designers, equipment supply houses, contractors, and the laboratory operator. A laboratory designed for efficient operation can be achieved only if all of them work together with mutual respect and the best possible communication. 

From the list of laboratory operations previously prepared, it will now be easy to single out the ones that require power. The manuals for the equipment already on hand and catalog information on items yet to be purchased can provide the power requirements. Compared to what was available some years ago, modern laboratory equipment does not need much power. Exceptions are heating devices and motors, which may be very power hungry. A list of the wattages involved should be made, noting which equipment operates on 110 volts and which on 220. Allowance should be made for future purchases of equipment. This information will help the electrical engineer or contractor determine the number of circuits. 

Local ones are listed in the yellow pages of the telephone directory. The laboratory operator should contact more than one for suggestions and estimates. In such discussions, a disposal service vdll ask detailed questions as to the exact nature of the waste and quantities involved. An agreement will be made about the types of shipping containers to be used. These are non-returnable. The disposal service may sell suitable containers and require these for certain types of waste. In other cases, the laboratory may provide its own. If drums are needed, they are available from companies engaged in drum reconditioning. Manufacturers of chemicals may have used drums available at reasonable prices, but since these wdll contain residues of their former contents, a check for compatibility must be made before using them. 

An accomplished architect once recommended a certain type of rubber tile for a laboratory floor because his data indicated its superior resistance to acids. He had not bothered to find out whether or not acid spills would be a problem in this case. They would not, in fact. Solvent spills, on the other hand, were quite likely to occur, and the recommended tile had poor solvent resistance. This example illustrates two things the importance of the laboratory operator s involvement with details that are sometimes overlooked even by experts, and the need to study each laboratory s requirements individually. 

Even the most reliable contractor or subcontractor may not be familiar with the requirements of a laboratory. He bases his bid on standard materials and procedures that he is accustomed to using for general construction. On the other hand, he may also throw in sophisticated and costly extras that are not required. It is for these reasons that everything must be well defined and crosschecked. Specifying materials and components by trade name is recommended. In many cases, of coimse, other brands could be acceptable, but it should be agreed that a switch can not be made without the laboratory operator s knowledge and approval. 

There are sometimes cases where space requirements, in spite of the most careftil planning, just do not come out the way they look on paper. This can often be the result of last minute revisions. It may be discovered during construction, for instance, that it is impossible to fit utility connections into a tight space allotted to them. Any changes required must be scrutinized by the laboratory operator, since they may have to be made in a certain way in order to accommodate future operations. 

Sample shelves also become overcrowded quickly, but it is often required to keep samples for extended periods of time. Older samples can be stacked into cardboard cartons, clearly identified by laboratory project references or quality control numbers, and stored at a convenient location away from the laboratory. Periodically they should be inspected and the out of date ones eliminated. One word of caution, however. Under current pollution control rules, laboratory samples may not be indiscriminatly disposed of as garbage. The laboratory operator should call in a waste disposal service when in doubt. 

What does it cost to run the laboratory The laboratory operator will be required to know this. He will also probably be required to... 

A manufacturing company approached the cost of quality control in a realistic manner. Before a quotation was made for a new product, the control chemist submitted an estimate of the time required for running the necessary tests. An hourly charge was established for laboratory operation, and the cost of quality control could thus be established. The sales department did not like the arrangement because the cost was very much the same whether they sold 200 or 2000 gallons of a product. 

Faucets chosen by the engineering firm were equipped with antisiphoning devices. The laboratory operator had specified their locations but had failed to check whether the local code required the expensive anti-siphoning type. The bench-mounted outlets installed for use with condensers and similar devices, however, were not of the anti-siphoning type, even though in this particular laboratory, the latter would be far more likely to draw water back into the system in case of pressure failure. 

The problems of the Laboratory of Neonatology are unique and distinct in many details from those of the general clinical chemistry laboratory. This requires a separate operation coordinated with the operation of the Pediatric Department of the hospital. It requires a highly sophisticated Chemist at the doctorate level as supervisor, trained in this area to insure that the results are meaningful and to supervise and accelerate the development of the techniques in this area. Developments in this direction are already taking place rapidly. The Committee on Pediatric Chemistry of the American Association of Clinical Chemists is now active in developing the list of normal values for the infant. 

The need for adequate documentation of laboratory operations is established not only by good science but also by regulatory requirements [137],... 

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