Protocols & Lab Techniques
Guides
Cleanroom Gowning Procedure: Donning, Doffing, and Training
A step-by-step SOP reference for cleanroom gowning: donning and doffing sequence, gowning-room design, qualification/training, and the standards (ISO 14644, EU GMP Annex 1, USP /) that govern it.
Leukoreduction: Process, Purpose, and Blood-Banking Standards
Leukoreduction filters most white blood cells out of red cell and platelet units to reduce febrile transfusion reactions, CMV transmission risk, and HLA alloimmunization. This guide covers the filtration process, pre-storage vs. bedside timing, quality standards, and how it differs from irradiation.
Point-of-Care Testing Coordinator: Responsibilities and Program Structure
What a point-of-care testing coordinator actually does: training, competency assessment, QC oversight, documentation, and how the role fits into CLIA compliance.
Electronic Crossmatch: Eligibility, LIS Validation & AABB/CAP Requirements
What an electronic (computer) crossmatch is, patient eligibility criteria, how blood bank LIS validation must be documented, and how it differs from serologic crossmatch under AABB and CAP requirements.
Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB): Certification Guide for Blood Bank Staffing Compliance
What the ASCP SBB (Specialist in Blood Banking) credential is, how it differs from BB(ASCP) and MLS(ASCP), and how it fits AABB, CLIA, and CAP personnel-qualification requirements for blood bank technical supervisor and reference-lab staffing.
Walking Blood Bank: Emergency Donor Programs for Blood-Supply Contingency Planning
A walking blood bank is a pre-screened roster of on-call donors who give whole blood directly when stored supply runs short. Covers military origins, low titer group O whole blood, civilian disaster-planning use, FDA regulatory requirements, and core SOP elements.
Irradiation of Blood Products: Purpose, Process, and Indications
Irradiation of blood products exposes red cells, platelets, and granulocytes to gamma or X-ray radiation to prevent transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD). This guide covers the mechanism, dose, indications, shelf-life effects, and how it differs from leukoreduction.
Point-of-Care Testing (POCT): Definition, Examples, and How It Differs From Laboratory Testing
Point-of-care testing (POCT) is diagnostic testing performed at or near the patient with results available in minutes. This guide covers the operational definition, common examples, how POCT compares to central laboratory testing, the CLIA regulatory framework, and what a POCT policy and procedure needs to cover.
Reagent Lot-to-Lot Verification: Procedure, Form, and CAP/CLIA Requirements
How to verify a new reagent lot before releasing it for patient testing: the CLIA/CAP regulatory basis, a step-by-step comparison procedure, what belongs on a verification form, and common pitfalls.
What Is IQCP (Individualized Quality Control Plan)? CLIA Requirements Explained
IQCP (Individualized Quality Control Plan) under CLIA: the three required components, who needs one, and how point-of-care analyzer choice shapes it.
Mouse Husbandry: Housing, Care, and Compliance Standards
A practical guide to mouse husbandry for research facilities: housing and environmental standards, feeding, breeding colony management, health monitoring, vendor procurement, and the AWA/PHS Policy/IACUC regulatory framework that governs it.
Zebrafish Husbandry: Water Quality, Housing, Breeding, and Health Surveillance
A practical guide to zebrafish (Danio rerio) husbandry for research facilities: water quality management, housing and stocking density, feeding, breeding and embryo collection, health surveillance, and the IACUC/regulatory oversight framework that applies to vertebrate animal research.
Sentinel Mice: How Rodent Colony Health Monitoring Works
Sentinel mice are exposed to used bedding from a research colony and tested on a fixed schedule so facility staff can detect rodent pathogens before an outbreak affects research validity or animal welfare.
Western Blot No Bands: Troubleshooting Decision Tree
A symptom-first decision tree for western blot failures: no bands, ghost bands, multiple bands, faint bands, smiling bands, and high background, starting from a single Ponceau check.
Phase Contrast Microscopy: Setting Up and Aligning the Phase Rings
A step-by-step procedure for aligning phase contrast microscope rings via Kohler illumination and the phase telescope, plus a Ph1/Ph2/Ph3 matching table and troubleshooting guide.
Size Exclusion Chromatography: Column Selection, Calibration and Molecular Weight Determination
How to calculate Kav from V0, Ve and Vt, build a log(MW) calibration curve, and select an SEC column and resin — with a full worked example and a troubleshooting table.
Building an Analytical Calibration Curve: Linear Range, R-squared and Back-Calculating a Concentration
How to build an analytical calibration curve from a standard set, read slope/intercept/R-squared and residuals, and back-calculate an unknown concentration, with a full worked least-squares example plus internal standard and standard addition methods.
Bradford Protein Assay: Standard Curve, Dilution Series and Calculating Concentration
How to run a Bradford protein assay: BSA standard series, dye reagent ratios, incubation time, and a worked calculation from A595 absorbance to mg/mL protein concentration.
SEM vs TEM: Which Electron Microscope for Which Sample
SEM and TEM answer different questions: SEM images surface topography on bulk samples, TEM images internal ultrastructure on sub-100nm sections at near-atomic resolution. Compare signal, resolution, prep burden, cost and failure modes.
IR Spectroscopy: Functional Group Frequency Table and How to Read a Spectrum
A wavenumber correlation table for O-H, C=O, C-C, C-N and other functional groups, plus a worked example assigning every major band of a spectrum and a sampling/troubleshooting reference.
Transmission Electron Microscopy: Sample Preparation Workflow and Resolution Limits
A numbered TEM sample preparation workflow (fixation through grid staining), specimen-thickness and resolution tables, alternative prep routes, and a troubleshooting table of real artifacts.
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry: Delta Notation, Reference Standards and Reporting
A guide to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) delta notation: the formula, the VPDB/VSMOW/AIR/VCDT reference standards, a worked per mil calculation, dual-inlet vs continuous-flow configurations, and a troubleshooting table of common IRMS failure modes.
Limit of Detection vs Limit of Quantitation: How to Calculate LOD and LOQ
LOD vs LOQ compared directly, with two worked calculations — the blank/calibration-curve standard-deviation method and the signal-to-noise ratio method — on the same shared dataset.
Column Chromatography: Packing the Column, Choosing a Solvent System and Collecting Fractions
A procedural guide to column chromatography: choosing silica mesh size and column dimensions, selecting a solvent system from TLC Rf values, packing a bubble-free bed, loading and eluting, monitoring fractions by TLC, and troubleshooting common failure modes.
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR): Running a Binding Assay and Calculating KD from a Sensorgram
A step-by-step SPR binding assay procedure from ligand immobilization through regeneration, plus a worked calculation deriving ka, kd and KD = kd/ka from real sensorgram values, with a troubleshooting table.
Cell Culture Reference Numbers: Vessel Surface Areas, Media Volumes and Seeding Densities
A reference table of flask, plate and dish surface areas, media volumes, dissociation volumes and seeding densities for cell culture, plus a worked scale-up example.
Gram Stain: Procedure, Reagents and How to Read the Result
A step-by-step Gram stain protocol with reagent timings, a purple-vs-pink results table, worked organism examples, and the single most common cause of a false-negative result.
LC-MS Explained: How Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry Are Coupled
How liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are actually coupled: ionization sources (ESI, APCI, APPI), mass analyzers (quadrupole, TOF, Orbitrap, ion trap), MS/MS and MRM quantitation, matrix effects/ion suppression, and mobile-phase compatibility.
Thin-Layer Chromatography: How to Run a Plate and Calculate Rf
A step-by-step thin-layer chromatography procedure with two fully worked Rf calculations, a solvent-system selection table, and a troubleshooting table for common plate problems.
Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES): How It Works and What It Measures
How Auger electron spectroscopy generates a surface-elemental signal, why it samples only the top few nanometers, how it compares to XPS, and how researchers typically access it through a core facility.
Powder Diffraction File (PDF): ICDD’s Reference Database for XRD Phase Identification
The Powder Diffraction File (PDF) is the ICDD’s curated reference database of powder X-ray diffraction patterns used to identify crystalline phases by matching measured d-spacings against known entries.
X-Ray Crystallography: How It Works, From Crystal to PDB Deposit
A researcher-facing guide to X-ray crystallography: Bragg’s law and the phase problem, the crystal-to-structure workflow, how to read data-quality metrics like R-free and CC1/2, and why PDB deposition of coordinates and structure factors makes the field self-correcting.
Confocal Microscopy: Principle, Setup, and When to Use It
How confocal microscopy works, when it beats widefield fluorescence, the parameters researchers must set and report, and the sample-prep, artefact, and image-integrity practices behind defensible confocal data.
Cell Culture Basics: A Beginner’s Guide for New Lab Members
A beginner’s guide to mammalian cell culture covering equipment, aseptic technique, media, passaging, cell counting, contamination control, and biosafety for new lab members.
Buffer and Solution Preparation: A Practical Lab Guide
The practical side of buffer preparation: choosing a buffer system, adjusting and verifying pH, sterilizing without degrading the buffer, and storing it correctly.
Cryopreservation of Cells: Basic Protocol and Best Practices
A step-by-step protocol for cryopreserving mammalian cell lines and primary cells: cryoprotectant selection, controlled-rate freezing, liquid nitrogen storage, thawing, and the mistakes that most often reduce post-thaw viability.
How to Write a Lab SOP: Step-by-Step Template and Guide
A practical, step-by-step guide to writing a lab SOP: the standard section structure, how to draft procedure steps that actually get followed, version control, review cadence, and a reusable template outline.
RNA Extraction Protocol Basics: Methods and Step-by-Step Overview
A step-by-step guide to RNA extraction: guanidinium-phenol-chloroform vs. column-based methods, RNase-free technique, DNase treatment, and how to assess RNA purity and integrity (A260/280, A260/230, RIN).
Pipetting Technique: Best Practices for Accuracy and Precision
A calibrated pipette still depends on the person using it. This guide covers the hand technique — tip selection, pre-wetting, immersion depth, aspiration speed, forward vs. reverse pipetting — that determines whether a measurement is actually accurate and precise on the bench.
DNA Extraction Protocol Basics: Methods and Step-by-Step Overview
A practical, method-by-method walkthrough of DNA extraction: the four core steps every protocol shares, when to use organic, salting-out, silica spin-column, magnetic bead, or CTAB extraction, a generic step-by-step workflow, and how to assess yield, purity, and common failure points.
ELISA Protocol Basics: Step-by-Step Overview
A step-by-step ELISA protocol covering plate coating, blocking, antibody incubation, washing, and detection, plus the four main ELISA formats and common troubleshooting fixes.
PCR Protocol Basics: How to Set Up a PCR Reaction
A step-by-step guide to setting up a standard PCR reaction: reagent components and concentrations, master mix workflow, thermal cycling parameters, primer design basics, and troubleshooting common failure modes.
Agarose Gel Electrophoresis Protocol Basics: What It Is and How It Works
A concept-and-protocol explainer for agarose gel electrophoresis: how size separation works, choosing agarose percentage, casting and running a gel, staining safely, and reading results.
Aseptic Technique: A Complete Guide to Sterile Lab Practices
Aseptic technique is the set of practices that prevent contamination of sterile materials, cultures, and samples by microorganisms. This guide covers the core principles, step-by-step procedures, and how aseptic technique differs from sterile technique.
Pipette Calibration: How and When to Calibrate Lab Pipettes
What pipette calibration checks, how often to calibrate based on usage and risk, in-house verification vs. accredited calibration services, the ISO 8655 gravimetric method, and what to do when a pipette fails.
Western Blot Protocol Basics: Step-by-Step Walkthrough
A complete step-by-step western blot protocol covering sample preparation, SDS-PAGE, membrane transfer, blocking, antibody incubation, detection, and troubleshooting common failure points.
Micropipette Types and Uses: Single-Channel vs. Multichannel
A practical explainer on micropipette types for lab work: single-channel vs. multichannel, volume-range families, air- vs. positive-displacement, and how to match a pipette to the task.
UV-Vis Spectrophotometer Basics: How It Works and Measures Concentration
How a UV-Vis spectrophotometer measures concentration: the absorbance/Beer-Lambert principle, instrument components, blanking, standard curves, common lab applications (A260/A280/OD600), and the most common measurement errors.
Serial Dilution Technique: How to Perform and Calculate
How to perform and calculate a serial dilution step by step, including the C1V1=C2V2 formula, a worked tenfold dilution series, and back-calculating original concentration from colony counts.
Molarity and Solution Calculations for the Lab
A practical walkthrough of molarity, mass-to-mole conversion, stock solution dilution math (C1V1=C2V2), and serial dilutions for the research lab, with worked examples and common error patterns.
