2012年7月11日 星期三

The Many Applications and Uses of Lab Incubators


An incubator provides a controlled environment that regulates temperature, ventilation and humility. It is used to care for premature babies, hatch poultry eggs and to cultivate microorganisms.

An incubator is made of three major kinds of materials. These include common grade stainless steel sheet metal, usually at.05-1 cm in thickness; materials for insulation such as fans, motors, nuts and screws and lastly, electronics materials, which may come with either the analog on/off switch and temperature control or an advanced, programmable microprocessor that controls temperatures and internal lighting. An incubator is also measured based on the volume of its chamber. Countertop models range from 1.5-3 cubic meters while the free-standing variety ranges from 5.5-10 cubic meters.

A type of incubator is the lab incubator, which was first used when doctors found that it could identify bacterial infections in the body. This is done so by obtaining a sample of the body's fluid, transferring it in a sterile dish or container and then putting it inside the laboratory incubator. Air is set at body temperature, (37 C or 98.6 F) to induce pathogenic growth. A laboratory incubator also provides adequate amount of nitrogen needed to promote cell growth. This controlled setting allows for microorganisms to multiply, which enables clinicians to identify the specific type of bacteria.

A laboratory incubator is also used for tissue culture, a type of clinical research method that draws out tissue parts from animals or plants. The sample is placed inside the incubator under controlled temperature and monitored for subsequent growth. By observing these tissue fragments, scientists gain valuable insights into how certain types of cells operate and interact. For instance, it allows them to understand how cancer cells behave, leading to further research and development of vaccines for illnesses such as influenza, measles, mumps and polio. With the use of a laboratory incubator for performing tissue culture, researchers have now succeeded at identifying disorders caused by the lack of certain enzymes in the body.

Moreover, a laboratory incubator is used in genetic engineering, which is an extended application of tissue culture. In this process, researchers manipulate the tissue's genetic materials. It is sometimes combined with DNA from independent sources to encourage new organisms. This process is responsible for sperm banks and more advanced scientific breakthroughs such as eugenics and cloning, of which continues to be hot debate topics. However, the manipulation of genetic material has already been used for good causes such as producing insulin.

With the use of laboratory incubator, genetic engineering may help improve nutritional content of plant foods such as vegetables and fruits and even increase resistance against diseases. You may not know it, but the power of bio-technology depends on laboratory incubators.

The incubator has many good uses for different industries. The poultry industry will grow increasingly dependent on incubators in hatching poultry eggs, a matter of keeping up with consumer demand for poultry products. Hospitals will always rely on neonatal incubators while the field of research and bio-technology will mainly depend on laboratory incubators. Meanwhile, the growth chamber type laboratory incubator will have to have more accurate settings in terms of relative humidity and temperature control. This way, scientists and researchers will have better and more improved ways to make this world a better place to live in.




Take a look at other targeted resources about lab incubators by visiting this website and also this site





This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

沒有留言:

張貼留言