Light Labs Newsletter

August 4, 2008

New LTS Barrier Pipette Tips from Light Labs

• Certified RNase- and DNase-free
• Tested and verified for fit and function with Rainin LTS pipettors
• Available in all the most popular sizes and formats

HighRecovery™ Aerosol Barrier LTS Pipet Tips from Light Labs set a higher standard for your lab than ordinary filter pipet tips. These LTS tips provide you with complete protection from sample carry-over . Incorporating a robotically inserted 10 micron filter with a sponge-like porous pathway. HighRecovery tips have such a small pore they even block fluids in the unlikely event that you should over pipet.
HighRecovery™ Aerosol Barrier LTS Pipet Tips have been proven in independent studies to block aerosol contamination but unlike self sealing Aerosol Resistent® pipet tips they have no cellulose gum or toluene solvent in the filter to mix with and contaminate your sample. Also, unlike self sealing aerosol tips HighRecovery™ tips can be autoclaved in a steam autoclave. And they will not wick fluids like cellulose filled Aerosol Resistent tips so you don't have to worry about how you hold your pipettor.

And now HighRecovery™ LTS pipet tips are made with our exclusive SuperClear™ resin so you can really see what is in the tip.

LTS is a registered trademark of Rainin Instrument, LLC.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

Spectrafuge Mini MiniCentrifuge only $229.00

Electroporation Cuvettes only $109.00

Starfrost Adhesive Microscope Slides on sale now!

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

August 4, 2008

Starfrost Microscope Slides from Light Labs

Light Labs is excited to introduce new Starfrost® Microscope Slides. StarFrost® slides from Light Labs carry on the wettable top surface, a colored translucent but opaque marking area. Available in our 6 standard colours: white, blue, pink, yellow, green and orange, all of which can be marked like a normal slide.

Different slide colors make it quicker and safer to separate slides or specimens. Our special color-printed marking area is resistant to all common chemicals used in the laboratories. On our StarFrost® Slides, the printed ink works as a spacer to prevent scratches or sticking of the slides when stacking or magazining them. Additionally, there has been a lower susceptibility to failure in automated laboratory systems noticed. From the single side printing of our colored marking area and our adjacent printed trademark “StarFrost®“, the user always knows the best surface to be used. The printing also makes it easier to focus the microscope on the used surface and even in the dark you can feel whether you have the correct side.

The StarFrost® slides are cleaned by a new, globally unique cleaning-procedure, which is also friendly to the environment. Our cleaning-process offers the best wettability and the optimum condition of the marking area.

All above mentioned microscope slides have hydrophilic surfaces and are commonly used for blood smears.

Starfrost Adhesive Microscope Slides from Light Labs

Light Labs' StarFrost® adhesive slides feature surface treatment with silane-coating. This silane coating forms permanent, free polar bonds on the surface, which also through electrostatic attraction ensures cell-and-tissue-adhesion and supports the forming of covalent bonds between the tissue and the glass surface. Tissue and cell substrates stick rapidly on our StarFrost® adhesive slides without using further adhesives or protein coating media. This saves costly and time consuming preparation-techniques.

The advantage of StarFrost® adhesive slides is the restriction of the adhesive coating to the top surface of our slides and therefore to the usable area only. On our adhesive slides the under side is untreated therefore the slides do not tend to stick when stacked or transported as with other competitive products and difficulties with marking are also avoided.

StarFrost® adhesive slides do not show striae and disturbing background coloration such as the blue or red background obtained with Haematoxylin and Eosin-staining of tissues on Albumin coated glass, or the brown background obtained during the Immunoperoxidase or In-situ-DNS-Hybridisation process. During these procedures our adhesive slides allow stronger enzyme-induction without losing the tissue.

For molecular-hybridization, washing with chromic-acid is redundant, due to our RNSase-free adhesive slides.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

Spectrafuge Mini MiniCentrifuge only $229.00

Electroporation Cuvettes only $109.00

SNAPLOCK Rainbow Microcentrifuge Tubes only $14.99/500tubes

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

October 31, 2007

Cryo-Babies, Cryo-Tags, Tough-Tags, and Tough-Spots from Light Labs

In early October, Light Labs began its partnership with Diversified Biotech in order to provide Tough-Tags, Tough-Spots, Cryo-Tags, and Cryo-Babies to researchers and laboratories. Cryo-Babies and Cryo-Tags come in rectangular, pre-cut, peel-off labels, specially designed to withstand cryogenic laboratory freezer temperatures. They are chemically inert polyvinyl labels that stick on all plastics and other materials. These labels are rated for liquid nitrogen storage, boiling water baths, most organic solvents, caustic agents, and other tough environments without peeling or cracking. Cryo-Babies and Cryo-Tags will accept any marking instrument.

Tough-Tags and Tough-Spots are made of special smear resistant material and will accept any marking instrument. They are peel-off, pre-cut labels, which are sized to fit .5 - 2.0mL microcentrifuge tubes and other containers. They are autoclavable, boilable, freezable, and chemically resistant.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

Spectrafuge Mini MiniCentrifuge only $229.00

New Non-Sterile Solution Basins only $39.00

New Electroporation Cuvettes only $109.00

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

August 22, 2007

Light Labs Partners with Sci-Cool

Light Labs is proud to announce a partnership with Sci-Cool. Light Labs will now carry the full line of Sci-Cool Laboratory Freezers and Laboratory Refrigerators. Sci-Cool offers -20C and -30C freezers for benchtops, floor space, and under-counter space. Refrigerators from Sci-Cool come in benchtop, floor model, and under-counter sizes. Both laboratory freezers and laboratory refrigerators can come with alarms, LED temperature displays, and locking mechanisms. Look to Light Labs for all of your freezer and refrigerator needs. And dont forget our full line of metal freezer racks for upright freezers or chest freezers.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

Microcentrifuge Tubes on Sale

Light Labs offers two types of Microcentrifuge Tubes for laboratory use. Our SureLock Microcentrifuge Tubes ($19.90/1000) are perfect for rigorous laboratory use including boiling, shaking, spinning, etc. Our SnapLock Microcentrifuge Tubes ($8.95/500) make laboratory work easier with a locking lid that requires less force to open and close. Try our microcentrifuge tubes today.

Spectrafuge Mini MiniCentrifuge only $229

TPP Dishes on Sale Now

Light Labs is currently offering a special on our agarose: customers who buy $1000 worth of agarose (A, B, C, or D) will receive a free iPOD Shuffle. Customers who purchase $250 in agarose online from Light Labs will receive a $10 iTunes Gift Card. (Offers expire 9/30/07) Purchase agarose online from Light Labs at www.lightlabsusa.com, by phone at 1-800-286-3103, or by fax at 1-972-479-1910.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

July 17, 2007

Light Labs Introduces NEW Metal Freezer Racks

Light Labs is proud to introduce our new line of metal freezer racks which can be found on our website at http://www.lightlabsusa.com. Our new metal freezer racks come in hundreds of different shapes and sizes and are designed to fit a wide range of laboratory freezers. The new metal freezer racks from Light Labs are constructed of high-quality, corrosion resistant stainless steel. Several configurations are available for both 2" and 3" high storage boxes. Light Labs now offers storage boxes for microcentrifuge tubes, which are made of either cardboard or polycarbonate plastic.

Eight Questions Reaserchers Need to Ask About Their Tissue Culture Flasks

1. Do the membranes in your caps clog when wet? Our TPP Flask membranes have hydrophobic qualities so that clogging is prevented.
2. Do you know if your cap is opened enough to vent? When a cap is open too far or not open enough, it isn't good for the cells. When the TPP vented caps are loosened a 1/4 turn there is a "catch" you can feel and hear. There is also a visual guide; the bar on the cap will line up with the "T" bar on the flask. These are designed for optimal venting and to eliminate the variable of variation in gas exchange between multiple flasks.
3. How do you know if your filtered cap (cap w/membrane) is closed tight enough? You will notice a "T" molded into the TPP flask on the top near the flask opening. You will also notice a solid "bar" on the cap. On the filtered caps the "bar" lines up with the "T" on the flask to let a researcher know the cap is in the closed position. With our competitors there isn't a guide to help them, so once in awhile a researcher will really crank the caps on tight. This can cause the flask to crack and actually ruin an experiment.
4. What percentage of cells do you retrieve from your flasks? Using a 1ml pipette or 24cm cell scraper and a T75 TPP Flask you can get to every corner without any difficulty. This also means that 100% of the media, FBS, etc. is going to treating cells/tissue in a TPP flask. If a lab can only retrieve 80% of their cells that means that 20% of everything put inside that flask is wasted material. That gets real expensive!
5. Do you ever find it hard to read the graduations on a flask? Most other manufacturers have clear graduations on their flasks. These flasks are very hard to read under the intense light of a bio-safety hood or when there is media in the flask. TPP graduations are in white making it easy to read for improved measuring & reduced potential for eye strain.
6. Do you ever find flasks on their side or tipped over in the incubator? When carrying a stack of flasks, does one ever slip out and fall to the floor? While many manufacturers have rimmed tops for better stacking & for better carrying of multiple flasks, most of these rims are ineffective. The rims on our TPP flasks are much more pronounced and thus more effective.
7. Do you ever have flasks stick together in the incubator? Flasks may stick together in an incubator because of condensation. TPP flasks have venting grooves on the bottom to allow even gas flow between stacked flasks, this prevents condensation build up. The vent grooves also eliminates stacked flasks from insulating each other by allowing heat exchange between stacked product.
8. How would you like a flask that takes up less space but has the same growth surface? Notice on the TPP flasks how the growth surface starts just below the neck. On other flasks, you have a slanted area between the growth surface and the neck. This is wasted space and provides no advantage to the lab.
   

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

TPP Flasks on Sale Now

New Cell Scrapers and Cell Lifters, individually wrapped and sterile, at great prices. $59.00/100

Light Labs is currently offering a special on our agarose: customers who buy $1000 worth of agarose (A, B, C, or D) will receive a free iPOD Shuffle. Customers who purchase $300 in agarose online from Light Labs will receive a $15 iTunes Gift Card. (Offers expire 5/30/07) Purchase agarose online from Light Labs at www.lightlabsusa.com, by phone at 1-800-286-3103, or by fax at 1-972-479-1910.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

June 14, 2007

What's in a TPP Cell Culture Dish?

1. Unique Grip Edge makes plate handling easier!*
2. More Pronounced Rim on the Top of the Dish for better stacking of dishes!
3. Outstanding Flatness for better cell distribution!
4. Vent Notches on the Base: Prevents condensation build up during incubation!*+
5. Yellow Marking Labels for better dish identification!*
6. 3, 6, 9, & 12 Numeric Scale set on the periphery of cell surface for easy orientation!*
7. Easy to Open Package!
8. All Products are designed to limit cross contamination and for easier handling!

* = Other leading dishes do not have these features!

+ = Condensation build up between stacked dishes can cause multiple problems for tissue culture growth.

1. It can cause dishes to stick together, resulting in handling difficulties, contamination issues, dropped dishes, spilled dishes, etc.
2. Any time there is standing water (condensation), it drastically increase the chances for bacteria growth.
3. Water begets water. If water is building up between stacked dishes, it can facilitate water getting inside the dishes. This hampers cell growth and makes the colonies appear stringy.
   

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

TPP Dishes on Sale Now

New Cell Scrapers and Cell Lifters, individually wrapped and sterile, at great prices. $59.00/100

Light Labs is currently offering a special on our agarose: customers who buy $1000 worth of agarose (A, B, C, or D) will receive a free iPOD Shuffle. Customers who purchase $250 in agarose online from Light Labs will receive a $10 iTunes Gift Card. (Offers expire 5/30/07) Purchase agarose online from Light Labs at www.lightlabsusa.com, by phone at 1-800-286-3103, or by fax at 1-972-479-1910.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

May 16, 2007

A Couple of Time Saving Tips in the Lab

1. When you are in a pinch, borrow solutions and pre-made supplies from your labmate.

2. If you are in the middle of an experiment and find that the solution you made for that experiment has been used by someone else, try a new labeling system. Instead of telling the entire lab what you made by putting the name of the solution on the bottle, put a symbol on the bottle. Make sure you keep a conversion chart of what symbol represents what reagent. We are all for sharing in the lab, but recognize how time costly it can be when you go to your reagent and there are only a few drops of it left.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

New Cell Scrapers and Cell Lifters, individually wrapped and sterile, at great prices. $59.00/100

Light Labs is currently offering a special on our agarose: customers who buy $1000 worth of agarose (A, B, C, or D) will receive a free iPOD Shuffle. Customers who purchase $250 in agarose online from Light Labs will receive a $10 iTunes Gift Card. (Offers expire 5/30/07) Purchase agarose online from Light Labs at www.lightlabsusa.com, by phone at 1-800-286-3103, or by fax at 1-972-479-1910.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

May 4, 2007

When evaluating a PCR plate, researchers should keep several features in mind. Most researchers are used to using PCR plates with molded in alpha-numerics, plates that warp, and plates that allow evaporation in outer wells. Light Labs has ways to remedy all of these problems. Plates with molded-in alpha-numerics are not as easy to read as those plates with printed alpha-numerics. Light Labs uses a process called Crowning to print the alpha-numerics on our plates. Crowning keeps the letters and numbers in place and does not allow them to smudge or run.

PCR plates are also prone to warping during the different heat cycles in a thermalcycler. Light Labs’ PCR Plates are made with more injection points than most plates on the market, relieving any stress that might build up within the plate, and thus keeping it from warping. Finally, many researchers find that they have evaporation in the outer wells of their plates. A problem like this is easily corrected. Researchers need to make sure that they are using the proper PCR plate sealing film. There are many sealing film options available and some work better with certain plates. If you are having trouble finding the right sealer for your plates, please call us at 1-800-286-3103 and let us help. You can order PCR Plates and many more PCR supplies online at www.lightlabsusa.com.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

Light Labs is currently offering a special on our agarose: customers who buy $1000 worth of agarose (A, B, C, or D) will receive a free iPOD Shuffle. Customers who purchase $250 in agarose online from Light Labs will receive a $10 iTunes Gift Card. (Offers expire 5/30/07) Purchase agarose online from Light Labs at www.lightlabsusa.com, by phone at 1-800-286-3103, or by fax at 1-972-479-1910.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

April 27, 2007

Are Your Serological Pipettes RNase/DNase Free?

I was contacted earlier this week by a customer asking if we had RNase/DNase Free Serological Pipettes. He mentioned that he was using a brand of serological pipettes and could not find if they were RNase/DNase free. He contacted the manufacturer and they said that the products were sterile and pyrogen free, but did not mention if they were free of RNases and DNases. It was vital to his cell culture to use serological pipettes that were free from RNases and DNases.

I looked into our TPP Tissue Culture product catalogue and found that our TPP Serological Pipettes are RNase/DNase Free, as well as sterile and free from pyrogens. TPP's Serological Pipettes are also made from one piece of plastic, which creates a better vacuum within the pipette, helping to keep unwanted liquid from dripping out of the pipette. The serological pipettes are packaged individually in paper/plastic wrapping and come in TPP's Dispenser Boxes, eliminating the need for buckets or racks to store them.

If you would like to buy TPP Serological Pipettes from Light Labs or would like to learn more about these products, click on the pictures below.

Light Labs

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

**TPP Tissue Culture Flasks

On Sale Now.

**TPP Tissue Culture Dishes

On Sale Now.

**TPP Tissue Culture Plates

On Sale Now.

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, the Spectrafuge, Laboratory Equipment, Tube Racks, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

April 17, 2007

Three Ways NOT to Store Latex Gloves

1. Don't store latex gloves in a cabinet over a laboratory bench. When latex gloves get hot, they begin to break down, becoming brittle. One of the warmest places in the laboratory is near the ceiling, due to rising heat and the fluorescent lighting. Cabinets above lab benches are typically bad places for latex gloves.

2. Don't keep more than a six month stock of latex gloves on hand in the lab. Latex breaks down with time, and after approximately a year, latex gloves become fragile and full of pin-holes. Most latex gloves are shipped in from overseas, and many sit in a warehouse for weeks or even months before they make it into the lab. A good rule of thumb is to keep only a six month supply of gloves on hand at any time. At Light Labs, we turn over our glove supply every month, ensuring that our customer's gloves are in good, working condition. Buy SkinTX latex gloves from Light Labs for $48 on our website at www.lightlabsusa.com.

3. Don't expose latex to light. Latex gloves will last longest if they are kept in a dark area. Keep your gloves away from a light source and you will have fewer gloves turn yellow and tear.

Light Labs Featured Products of the Week

**AGAROSE A (Biotechnology Grade) - Agarose A is a standard melting/gelling agarose, suitable for routine nucleic acid and protein analytical preparative applications.

LL3109 - 500g - $299.00

LL3110 - 1kg - $499.00

Mention code BARNES & NOBLE for a $15 B&N coupon with a purchase of 500g or a $30 B&N coupon with a purchase of 1kg. (Good through April 20, 2007)

**DISCOVERY PIPETTES

Single Channel Pipettes on sale starting at $189. Visit our website for more information and catalogue numbers.

Mention code BARNES & NOBLE for a $30 B&N coupon with a purchase of 4 pipettes. (Good through April 20, 2007)

**BULK YELLOW PIPETTE TIPS - On sale at a great price. $8.75/1000 tips

Light Labs carries a full line of laboratory consumables including Microcentrifuge Tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, TPP Tissue Culture, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

March 29, 2006

Light Labs is proud to announce the addition of the LabNet line of laboratory equipment, including shakers, rockers, centrifuges, incubators, electrophoresis, nutating mixers, and much more, to our ever-changing line of laboratory and research products. Here are just a couple of the new product offerings from Light Labs.

On Sale for $1795.00

Centrifuges: Light Labs now carries the Spectrafuge line of centrifuges from LabNet. The newest member of the Spectrafuge family, the 24D, features precise digital microprocessor control. This centrifuge is loaded with features, yet has a list price low enough to make it the most economical high performance microcentrifuge on the market. A newly designed, easy-access 24 x 1.5 ml rotor is supplied with the Spectrafuge 24D. This innovative rotor places the tubes on a plateau, where the user can easily grip their tops. The powerful brushless motor quickly accelerates the rotor to a maximum speed of 13,300rpm/16,000 x g. The controls are simple, consisting of only two knobs. The speed knob is used to set the speed in either rpm or g-force. Pressing the knob toggles the display between rpm and rcf. Turning the timer knob sets the time parameter, while pushing it starts and stops operation of the unit. The last run settings remain in memory allowing for repetitive centrifuging without resetting of parameters. Extremely quiet and cool running, this unit maintains a small footprint. The Spectrafuge 24D is available in five accent colors.

Shakers: One example of the new shakers that Light Labs offers is the GyroMini. The GyroMini is a smaller version of our popular GyroTwister. Its small size makes it ideal for mixing samples in blood and centrifuge tubes. The GyroMini combines the motions of an orbital shaker and a rocker to produce a three dimensional action. The result is a thorough yet gentle mixing without foaming. Both the speed and tilt angle of this small shaker are fixed to provide the optimal level of agitation for mixing samples in small containers. Fixed speed and pitch. The GyroMini is supplied with a dimpled mat for holdidng tubes firmly in place. For temperature sensitive samples, the GyroMini can be used in a cold room.

On Sale for $325.00

LabNet is known as a standard in the research industry for their exceptional quality and price on the items that they offer. The partnership between LabNet and Light Labs will allow us to offer a more well rounded product line to our customers. Don'f forget to check our our laboratory consumables like our microcentrifuge tubes, PCR tubes, 96 well PCR plates, Pipette Tips, and more.

Light Labs Newsletter

March 15, 2006

Light Labs has recently released several new products from Biomega Research. Our new line of hotplates, stirrers, and stirring-hotplates rival the best on the market with a much less expensive price point.

$179 for Stirrers and Hotplates

$279 for Stirring Hotplates

Biomega hotplates, stirrers and hotplate-stirrers feature an exceptionally durable, chemical resistant white ceramic work surface. Their space-efficient design (8 X 9 in. footprint), makes them ideal for use on crowded benchtops and inside of bio-hoods.

Advanced microprocessor controls with convenient turn knobs allow quick, precise adjustment and maintenance of speed and temperature. Safety indicator LED’s on the front panel indicate when the heating and/or stirring functions have been activated. With a square 7.5 in work surface, all three models are compatible with a wide variety of popular sizes of borosilicate glass beakers, flasks, bottles and other vessels. The hotplate/magnetic stirrer model comes complete with a support rod for mounting thermometers and temperature probes.

CoolCubes

On SALE for $89

We are also proud to introduce our new CoolCubes. The CoolCube is designed to store samples safely on the lab bench without sample degredation due to temperature increase or fluctuation. Constructed of DuraStar (a high strength polymer) and a patented gel refrigerant, the CoolCube maintains temperature at approximately 0 C for up to four hours. Simply place the CoolCube in a freezer overnight and it’s ready for use, keeping samples cool and safe at the bench, without messy ice buckets or wet tubes.

One side of the CoolCube can be used as a convenient PCR workstation with wells for 12 standard 1.5/2.0ml microcentrifuge tubes and one 96 well PCR plate or 0.2ml tubes/strips. The other side can be used to hold 36 standard 1.5/2.0ml microcentrifuge tubes.