McClean:Lab Set-up

Where to Put Things

As you unpack boxes, discover things hidden on shelves, etc please put them in the following places. If you don't know where something goes, ask Megan. Generally, feel free to ask Megan anything.

• Manuals for equipment, kits, reagents, etc--Put in the box labeled "Manuals and Spare Parts"
• Small or spare parts that have been separated from the equipment they belong to--Put in the box labeled "Manuals and Spare Parts"

Tasks

List of tasks that need to be done to set-up the lab. Roughly each person will have a task, complete, and move on.

• Do ASAP
  • Go through all rooms. For any drawers and cabinets that aren't labelled clean any debris etc out of them and wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. If any of them are really dirty talk to Megan.
  • Search out "old" floor tiles in all rooms. Look behind tables, under boxes, etc. Label where all tiles are and make sure that they are clear. These are going to be repaired soon. Once that happens we can finish putting all of the equipment in it's final destinations.

• Chemical Inventory
  • Unpack chemicals in room 3005A
  • Enter each chemical into Quartzy (will need a laptop when you do this task so you can enter as you go)
  • Arrange on shelves in room 3005A in alphabetical order. Large "oversized" chemicals can go under the table. Flammables and corrosives need to go in the appropriate cabinet under the hood.

• Glassware
  • Organize and rearrange the clean glassware by the door in 3005A
  • Find a good glassware washing protocol online and order (through Quartzy) necessary supplies (if they aren't already in the lab)
  • Search through the lab space for dirty glassware (for example, there is some in 3007 and 3009). Wash glassware. Dry. Autoclave. Put away.

• Equipment Inventory and Check
  • Inventory small equipment (enter into Quartzy)
  • Set-up the plasma preen
  • Organize and set-up Bioptechs. Verify that the temperature control works and also that fluid handling, etc works. Figure out how to run the legacy program to do control of the device.

• Box Unpacking
  • Once a box is unpacked and broken down, put the box in the large C-bin in room 3009. Clean bubble wrap and other materials can be put there as well. Other packing material can be thrown away. Small or junky boxes can be broken down and put outside in the hallway for pick-up by the cleaning staff.
  • Write the label color and number in Megan's notebook. Write a brief description of the contents and condition.
  • If you encounter a box that contains a piece of equipment unpack any random stuff stuck in the box (sometimes tubes, paper towels, etc were used to fill space) and leave the equipment in the box. Put it in the box under one of the tables that is labelled for unopened equipment. We will open these and set-up the equipment later once the table tops are cleaned off.
  • If you encounter SUPPLIES in a box (tubes, paper towels, etc) look for the box (room 3005, center) or drawer they might go into. We have a large excess of some things (conical tubes, eppendorfs, Kimwipes) so that at the moment those just need to be sorted, put into boxes, and stored (because I of course, packed everything by geometry not by what would logically go together). Make sure the supplies boxes are labelled with what is actually in them (you may need to cross out old labels and write the new information).
  • Small equipment--Put in the designated place for uninventoried small equipment. Will probably be a table top in 3005. This is for things like vortexers, minifuges, etc)
  • If you encounter a piece of equipment in need of repair, make a note of it in openwetware here: Repairs

• Cold Storage Organization
  • Sort out the enzymes and buffers that were just thrown into bags in the -20C in room 3007. Before this is done, Nalgene coolers will have to be prepped by freezing them overnight. Would be best to repair the cooler handles before doing this.

• Laboratory Webpage
  • This is wide open. Currently, we are using the old webpage at Princeton but that will go away soon enough (http://www.princeton.edu/genomics/mcclean/). Designing and putting together the lab webpage is a significant project, but if someone has the experience and would like to go after it, please let me know.

• Other
  • Sort through the Qiagen kits and throw away old reagents. Consolidate kits. Keep all columns, etc.
  • Sort through the Zymo kits. Throw away old reagents. Keep all columns.

• Future Tasks (After some more lab organization is done!)
  • We won't be ready for these until we get some more stuff moved around and organized in the lab, but I'm writing them here so that we don't forget. You can also add to this list if there's something you'd like to remember to do in the future. Just date and initial the entry.
  • Get the label maker working and label all cabinets. Ideally, each bench space will only have the bottom three drawers of each cabinet filled. This is so that the person who uses that bench space has a place to store their personal items (pens, tape, notebook, etc).

Areas to Set-up Within the Lab

We won't be ready to do this for awhile, as we need to wait for the floor tiles to be replaced and do a bit more organization. However, eventually we will need to set-up these "work stations" within the lab in addition to workspace for individuals. If you think of something, please feel free to add it to the list.

• • Gel Electrophoresis: Area to run gels, keep a stock of TAE buffer, etc
  • Microfluidics station: Area to mix and degas PDMS, pour and bake devices, plasma clean, etc
  • Chemical area: pH meter, balances, etc
  • Tetrad dissection: Area with probably a lower table for the dissection scope. Preferably an area with lower traffic but this isn't totally necessary. Could also be on a high table, but that might be less comfortable. Stereoscope can probably go on the same table?