Comprehensive Laboratory Solutions To Ensure Safety, Efficiency, and Sustainability

In modern laboratories, efficiency, safety, and sustainability are key to successful research and development. A well-organized lab relies on high-quality lab products including precision tools, safety gear, and environmentally conscious supplies. These tools not only ensure optimal performance but also contribute to reducing a lab’s carbon footprint and improving overall lab sustainability.

By choosing innovative and sustainable solutions, laboratories can reduce single use plastic waste, minimize environmental impact, and enhance operational efficiency. This article explores essential laboratory products designed to support safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible workflows, helping labs meet both scientific and sustainability goals.

Liquid Handling Solutions

Liquid handling techniques play a crucial role in day-to-day operations in many laboratories. Manual processes have traditionally generated a large amount of single use plastic waste, including pipette tips, tip racks, tubes, and reservoirs, in addition to packaging for these items. Experts at Corning Life Sciences are incorporating strategies to reduce materials and design for recyclability, all to improve lab sustainability. 

Plastic products like pipette tip racks are historically difficult to recycle and often end up in the landfill or the incinerator. The Axygen® HybridRack™ is a recent development that contains 70% less plastic compared to a traditional tip rack. Engineers replaced the base of the rack with recyclable paperboard, which reduced overall plastic content and allowed most curbside recycling programs to recycle the product. The redesigned rack provides a stable platform for manual pipetting and allows users to load single- or multi-channel pipettes. This innovation aligns with growing efforts to create a more sustainable laboratory environment.

HybridRack

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Recently, Corning updated the packaging for its Axygen brand products, making environmentally friendly changes to both the individual pack boxes and to the outer shipping containers. By the end of 2024, most of Axygen lab products, including tips for manual or automated liquid handling, microcentrifuge tubes, PCR consumables, storage plates, and liquid handling instruments will transition to the newer, more sustainable packaging.

Select Axygen lab products now have Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification (Axygen® Product Packaging Update). While helping customers meet sustainability goals, the new packaging is high-quality and provides stability and peace of mind while products are in transport.

Liquid Handling Instruments

Precise liquid handling is essential in any laboratory and selecting the right equipment - such as manual pipettors, pipette controllers, and bottle-top dispensers - enhances accuracy, safety, and efficiency. Designers create modern pipettes with ergonomic features to reduce hand strain and ensure comfort during prolonged use. Pipette controllers provide controlled aspiration and dispensing, minimizing the risk of spills and contamination, while bottle top dispensers offer a safe and convenient way to handle reagents directly from storage bottles. 

Sustainable practices in liquid handling are also a growing priority, with manufacturers developing long-lasting, high-quality devices that reduce plastic waste and energy consumption. Learn more about how Corning cares for sustainability and integrate eco-friendly practices into laboratory solutions.

Benchtop Centrifuges

Safety is paramount when using laboratory centrifuges, especially when handling potentially hazardous materials or infectious specimens. Using approved safety containment systems when centrifuging such substances is crucial to prevent any accidental exposure. Proper balancing and distribution of the load in the centrifuge is essential to avoid damage to the tubes or the equipment. Following safety protocols, conducting trial runs to determine proper conditions, and being knowledgeable in safe laboratory practices are all imperative for a secure and successful centrifugation process.

Corning offers a wide range of laboratory centrifuges, including compact mini microcentrifuges to high-speed benchtop centrifuges with speeds of up to 13,500 rpm. Designed for maximum application flexibility and quality separations, these centrifuges ensure reliable operation for many laboratory protocols. 

The diverse selection of bench centrifuges in the Corning portfolio caters to various research needs, providing researchers with options to meet their specific requirements and achieve accurate results in their experiments. Whether handling hazardous materials or seeking reliable performance, the Centrifugation Guide can assist in choosing the best centrifuge for your lab while providing valuable tips for successful experimentation. 

Proper usage also minimizes wear on components, reducing the need for replacements and indirectly lowering plastic product consumption and disposal. Following sustainable practices in equipment handling and maintenance supports long-term waste reduction and responsible resource usage.

Laboratory Agitation Solutions

Lab agitators play a crucial role in laboratories across various life science disciplines, including molecular biology, biochemistry, and clinical chemistry, by facilitating the mixing of liquids. These laboratory tools come in different types based on their construction, movement style, and additional features to cater to diverse mixing needs.

Researchers commonly use shakers and vortexers for circular or orbital shaking motions, which makes them effective for blending small liquid volumes in vessels like test tubes and microcentrifuge tubes. They find applications in tasks such as electrophoresis gel staining, bacterial cell growth, and dissolution studies, offering versatility in laboratory operations.

Platform rockers provide a gentle back-and-forth mixing motion suitable for low-agitation tasks like tissue fixation and blotting applications that require consistent movement. Nutating mixers blend the actions of orbital shakers and rockers to achieve thorough yet gentle mixing without causing foaming, making them ideal for mixing samples in small containers like blood and tissue samples. 

Laboratory shaking incubators are specialized equipment designed to create controlled and uniform conditions for the growth, incubation, and agitation of biological samples. These incubators combine standard incubator features with a shaking mechanism, serving various life science applications such as microbiology, cell culture, and molecular biology for precise sample handling and processing. 

If you encounter difficulty in selecting the best agitator for your lab, the Lab Agitation Equipment Guide can provide valuable insights into various options and available solutions. Additionally, the guide helps researchers identify eco-friendly options and offer best practices for improving performance while supporting waste management initiatives in the lab.

Sustainable Laboratory

As the scientific community continues to prioritize sustainability, choosing lab products that reduce single use plastic waste, improve recyclability, and support lab sustainability goals is more critical than ever. From pipette tips to centrifuges, every decision impacts a lab's carbon footprint and contributes to a more sustainable future for research.

By integrating sustainable practices and investing in smart design, today's laboratories can meet rigorous performance standards while actively reducing their environmental footprint.