Laboratory Exercise No.

1
Tools and Equipment used in Microbiology

Name: Marvin L. Talahiban Course & Year: BSA-2a

Class Schedule: Tue- 8:00 am – 10:00 am
Thurs- 8:00 am – 11:00 am

I. Introduction

A laboratory is a room or structure equipped with scientific tools for conducting scientific
experiments, teaching science, or creating chemicals or medications.

The way that science is taught in schools is unique. You can easily observe the difference if you
look at any scientific classroom. Science classrooms don't have rows of desks; instead, they have small
groups of tables with burners, sinks, and other learning aids. It thus begs the question of why science is
the only topic that requires more than just books and lectures to be taught. to better comprehend the
significance of school science lab supplies. Science lab equipment helps students to conduct experiments
rather than merely reading about them, which engages them. rather than taking.

II. Objectives:

 To acquire knowledge the uses of different tools and equipment used in Microbiology.
 To understand the uses of tools and equipment used in Microbiology.
 To apply the knowledge on how the tools and equipment used in Microbiology.

III. Methodology

We conducted research about the different tools and equipment and there uses through the
internet.

IV. Result and Discussion

Table 1: The table below shows the common laboratory apparatuses and their uses.

Name Use Scientific Drawing

Sterillization
Hot Air Oven A hot air oven applies dry heat for
sterilization. Its main application is
sterilizing glassware like pipettes,
flasks, metallic instruments, and
scissors. Electric current provides
heat in a hot air oven. The heat is
provided uniformly due to the
arrangement of heating elements.
The holding time depends on
temperature.
Autoclave The autoclave is an example of moist
heat sterilization. The primary
purpose of the autoclave is
sterilizing culture media and
laboratory supplies. Saturated steam
under pressure above 100℃ is used
for sterilization in autoclaves. There
are many autoclaves, but the most
common type is the pressure cooker
laboratory autoclave.
Bacterial It is the microbiological laboratory
Incinerator equipment used for sterilization. The
instrument uses high temperature for
discarding small metal utensils like
lancets, needles, inoculating loops,
and forceps. It requires less time and
can be a suitable replacement for
Bunsen burners and alcohol lamps.

Instruments for Culture and Identification

Analytical An analytical balance measures the
Balance precision in determining the mass of
solid objects, liquids, powders, and
granular substances. It is an
electronic device and uses the
principle of magnetic force
restoration, offering readability up to
0.0001 g.

Biological Safety A microbiology laboratory deals

Cabinets with many infectious and hazardous
organisms and different carcinogenic
chemicals. There is a very high risk
of contaminating the environment
and personnel in the microbiology
laboratory. Thus the need for safe
and contamination-free transfer of
specimens, daily practice in the
microbiology laboratory, has arisen.
The biological safety cabinet is the
principal device used for
containment while dealing with
microbiological samples.

Bunsen Burner The Bunsen burner is a gas burner

that uses dry heat to sterilize
materials. The highest temperature it
can provide is 1870℃. The
materials are heated by holding them
almost vertically in the flame until
red hot. The Bunsen burner usually
requires gas (cooking gas). The use
of the Bunsen burner is sterilizing
the materials like inoculating loop
needles, the tip of forceps, and
spatula. Similarly, a Bunsen burner
creates a sterile zone. Bunsen burner
can be used to flam the mouths of
tubes and flasks before and after use
and remove gas bubbles formed
during pouring media.
Centrifuge A centrifuge is a laboratory device
that helps separate fluids, gas, or
liquid-based on their density. The
spinning of a vessel containing
material at high speed helps achieve
the separation. The application of
this equipment in many laboratories
is in purifying cells, subcellular
organelles, viruses, proteins, and
nucleic acids. The high speed creates
centrifugal force. Thus, pushing the
heavier material onto the outer part
of the vessels. The centrifuge is of
different types based on its intended
use or motor. Some of them are;
benchtop centrifuges, refrigerated
benchtops centrifuges, clinical
benchtop centrifuges,
microcentrifuges, and vacuum
centrifuges.
Chromatographic Chromatography is a technique that
Instruments assists in separating and analyzing
complex mixtures. It consists of a
mobile phase that carries the mixture
and passes it to the stationary phase.
The speed of travel of materials is
different because of their difference
in migration rate. The equipment of
chromatography includes columns,
freits, flow cells, pumps, detectors,
collectors, and complete systems
used in high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC), gas
chromatography (GC), and liquid
chromatography-mass spectrometers
(LC-MS).
Colony Counter A colony counter is a machine that
automatically counts colonies in the
agar plate in the microbiology
laboratory. It uses fluorescent labels
or the contrast between light and
dark areas on the plate to measure
the colonies. It has replaced the
conventional counting method in
most laboratories, manual counting.
Gel Electrophoresis is a process that
Electrophoresis separates nucleic acid and protein-
Apparatus based on their size and charge. It
requires a set of different types of
apparatus and equipment. There are
two basic types of electrophoresis
instruments available; horizontal and
vertical. Both types require almost
the same set of instruments. The
difference is the placement of
samples in vertical type is on the top
of the gel, whereas in horizontal
type, it is in a well on one side of the
gel. The vertical gel electrophoresis
instrument is preferred because it
can process smaller fragments of
DNA and many samples at a time.
Homogenizer A homogenizer is an instrument that
helps in obtaining a uniform and
consistent mixture. It breaks down
the component so that the
distribution is even throughout the
solution. The substance in the mix is
either immiscible, has different sizes,
or is in distinct phases from each
other. Aside from homogenizing the
solution, the instrument functions in
emulsifying, suspending, grinding,
dispersing, and dissolving the
substances.
Hot Plate A hot plate provides heat to solutions
and materials uniformly. It is much
safer than a Bunsen burner because
an open flame is not present in the
hot plate. In the microbiology
laboratories, hot plate serves their
purpose in making agar media and
biochemical media. Based on
materials used to make the plate of
the hot plate, it is of many types.
Some of the materials most
commonly used in making the plate
are aluminum, glass, and ceramic.

Incubator An incubator is an instrument that

provides the desired temperature for
in vitro culture of microorganisms. It
consists of a double-walled chamber
made up of metal sheets. The front
part of the chamber has a glass door.
A thermostat controls the incubator’s
temperature and turns off the heat
supply until the incubator reaches
the required temperature. It also
contains a thermometer in the vent
that records the temperature. There
are many types of incubators used in
microbiology. They are benchtop
incubators, CO2 incubators, potable
incubators, shaker incubators, and
cooled incubators.
Laboratory A Laboratory freezer is used to store
Freezer samples, specimens, and other
materials at -10℃ to -30℃. A
general-purpose laboratory freezer
can typically store samples up to -
25℃ whereas ultra-low temperature
freezer can freeze samples to almost
-80℃.

Laminar Flow A laminar flow chamber is a safety

Cabinet cabinet. Laminar flow is the
unidirectional air moving at a steady
velocity along parallel lines. A
laminar flow cabinet can be used in
laboratories where the risk of
handling hazardous organisms is
significantly low. HEPA (high-
efficiency particulate air) filter
removes particles, including
microorganisms, from the air. This
chamber aims to prepare sterile
media, assemble those media into
complete units, and transfer
materials aseptically.
Microscope Most microorganisms are not visible
under the naked eye. A microscope
is an optical instrument that consists
of a lens or combination of lenses
that makes an enlarged image of
minute objects. There are two types
of microscopes depending on their
principle; light microscope and
electron microscope. The light
microscope comprises four types:
bright field, dark field, fluorescence,
and phase-contrast.
Micropipettes Micropipettes are semi-automatic
instruments that use disposable
pipette tips to withdraw and dispense
the liquid sample. This helps to
avoid the risk of human
contamination in the laboratory and
also get a precise measurement of
the reagent and sample.
Thermocyclers Thermocyclers are the instrument
that helps in amplifying DNA and
RNA samples by the process of
polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
The thermocycler controls the
temperature of the specimens in a
holding block by preprogrammed
steps. It then allows the denaturation
and reannealing of samples with
various reagents. The amplified gene
can then be used in cloning,
sequencing, genotyping, and
analyzing the sample.

pH Meter A pH meter measures the

acidity/alkalinity of the solution. It
detects the activity of hydrogen ions
in the solution. The degree of
activity of hydrogen ions in the
solution is the pH level of the
solution, i.e., the higher the activity
of hydrogen ions, the higher the pH
level of the solution.

Refrigerator The refrigerator provides a low-

temperature environment.
Refrigerator preserves those
materials and stock culture that may
decompose and destroy when kept at
room temperature. The most
commonly used refrigerator is a
domestic refrigerator of about 1-2
m3 or even larger. The ideal
temperature for refrigeration is 4-
5℃, and some refrigerators may
also contain a freezer that provides -
20 to -40℃. The use of refrigerators
is to store cultures, media prepared,
blood, serum, antibiotics, and other
chemicals.
Spectrophometer A spectrophotometer is an
instrument that measures the number
of photons absorbed after it passes
through the sample solution. A
spectrophotometer is of two types
based on the wavelength of the light
source; UV-visible and IR
spectrophotometer.
Vortex Mixer A vortex mixer mixes laboratory
samples in test tubes, well plates, or
flasks. A motorized drive shaft is
present below the sample platform,
which oscillates rapidly and transfers
the orbital motion to the sample
container loaded into the mixer. This
motion causes the sample to
circulate and undergo a turbulent
flow known as a vortex. It is similar
to the kinetic force of stirring, but its
advantage is the mixing of samples
in a sealed container, and the mixing
of at least two specimens at a time is
possible.
Water Bath A water bath is an instrument that
provides constant temperature to a
sample. A thermostat controls the
water bath’s temperature. It consists
of an insulating box of steel and
electrodes to provide warmth. Its
uses in microbiology are in
incubation, media preparation, and
maintaining temperature.

Instruments for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

Antibiotic Disc The antibiotic disc dispenser is the
Despenser laboratory equipment that helps
accurately place the antibiotic disc in
the media of choice. It is handy
equipment to obtain precision while
conducting antibiotic susceptibility
testing. It is available in various
types based on the number of
cartridges and the Petri plate size.
Antibiotic Zone An antibiotic zone reader is a
Reader laboratory instrument that helps to
obtain an accurate reading of the
diameter of the zone of inhibition of
the used antibiotic. It is an automatic
method that replaces the tedious and
erroneous manual work of reading
the zone of inhibition during
antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Densitometer The Kirby Bauer method of

antibiotic susceptibility testing
requires a standard concentration
(MacFarland standard) of bacterial
colonies. Densitometer is an
automatic laboratory instrument that
helps obtain the required
concentration of bacterial
suspension.
 Glassware
Beaker A beaker is a glass container that has
a flat bottom. The use of beakers in a
microbiology laboratory is holding
or storing liquids.

Conical Flask A conical flask is a cone-shaped

flask with a flat round bottom and a
cylindrical neck. It is also called
Erlenmeyer’s flask. Its purpose in
the microbiology laboratory is to
prepare media.

Glass Rod A glass rod is a piece of laboratory

equipment used to mix chemicals
and liquids. They are made of solid
glass with a thickness and length
similar to drinking straw. It has
rounded ends. Bent glass rods or L-
shaped rods spread dilute specimens
over the agar surface, whereas
straight glass rods are used to stir
agar and solution.

Measuring A measuring cylinder is an

Cylinder instrument made of glass or plastic
used to measure the volume of
different liquids. Measuring
cylinders are graduated, measuring
the volume in ml (milliliter).

Slides Microbiology laboratories use

different types of microscopic slides.
The most common type is a plain
glass slide. It is used in staining and
observing under a microscope. The
preferred dimension of a plain glass
slide is three by one inch with 1 mm
thickness. Another type of slide
commonly used for hanging drop
motility has wells or depression in
the center.
 Petri Dish A petri dish is made up of
glass/plastic. It is an apparatus in
which culture media is poured,
providing a suitable environment for
the growth of microorganisms. Petri
dish consists of two look-alike parts,
but one is bigger than the other
forming a cap-like structure. The
preferred diameter of the petri dish is
90 mm.

Glass Pipette Pipette is the glassware that helps

deliver a specific quantity of fluid
from one container to another. A
pipette is a piece of a calibrated glass
tube marked, and a sample is drawn
through a small capillary.

Test Tubes A standard test tube has high utility

in the microbiology laboratory. It
helps grow microorganisms by
providing an artificial environment,
preparing stock cultures, and
performing various biochemical
tests. The microbiology laboratory
uses borosilicate glass, and the open
end is plain without lips. They have
cotton plugs as a stopper, but using
metal or plastic caps is possible.

V. Conclusion

We conclude that we should always know about lab equipment before you do any kind of experiment
because without the proper knowledge, we will not know how to use the materials or how to answer our
investigation or research. Science can be fun but it can also be dangerous specially in working with any kinds of
objects, chemicals, or other harmful things that may be able to harm you or someone else without knowledge

References:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/laboratory
https://www.usalab.com/blog/the-importance-of-science-lab-equipment-in-schools/
https://microbeonline.com/equipment-essential-for-microbiology-laboratory/