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Glassware & Media Preparation Service Laboratory

The Glassware and Media Service Laboratories in Phase II and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases (CMMID) provide a constant supply of properly prepared glassware and media that is absolutely essential to the activities of research.

A. Instrumentation


Equipment # Location
Steris Century Sterilizer 2 CMMID,441A, Room 107/109
Amsco 'Eagle' Sterilizer 2 CMMID,441A, Room 107/109Phase II, Room 201
Scotsman Ice Machine 3 CMMID,441A, Room 114 & 2nd floor hallway-Phase II, Room 201
Better Built Dryer 1 CMMID,441A,Room 107/109
Bellco Pipette Plugger 3 CMMID,441A, Room 107/109-Phase II, Room 201
Precision Convection Oven (dry-heat) 1 CMMID,441A, Room 107/109
Fisher Accumet pH Meter 1 CMMID,441A, Room 109A
Precision Digital Circulation Bath 1 CMMID, 441A, Room 109A
Vaponics House Still (VSS-20Ti)w/300 gal. tank & purification loop 1 CMMID,441A, Room 107/109
Vaponics House Still (VSS-30Ti)w/ 300 gal.tank & purification loop 1 Phase II, Room 201
Mettler Balance 1 CMMID, 441A, Room 109A
Nanopure Water Purifier 1 Phase II, Room 201
Bellco Glass Still 1 Phase II, Room 201
Precision-Thelco Convection Oven(dry-heat) 1 Phase II, Room 201
Bransonic Ultrasonic Pipette Cleaner 2 CMMID, 441A, 107/109-Phase II, Room 201

B. Services


  1. GlasswareGlassware Cleaning and Sterilizing
    • All glassware that is sent to be washed and/or sterilized will be processed within two working days unless there is some special cleaning problem that requires more time.
    • Items that need to be sterilized (dry heat or steam) should be labeled as such. All sterilized glassware will be processed within two working days. The sterilizer(s) will be operated from 8:00 - 5:00 daily Monday through Thursday and from 8:00 - 4:00 on Fridays to allow time for sterilizer(s) to be cleaned. Prior permission must be obtained before sterilizers are used after hours or over weekends.
  2. Distilled and Deionized Water
    • The Glassware/Media Service Laboratories in Phase II and CMMID provide a constant supply of at least 200 gallons or more of distilled/deionized water.
      • The distilled/deionized water is obtained by prefiltering tap water through a condensate feed-back system and then distilling it by a 7-step process.
      • The distilled water is then cooled and passed into a 300 gallon titanium-lined, stainless-steel water storage tank, where it is continuously recirculated through a purification loop back into the tank. An ultraviolet lamp attached to the tank eliminates any bacteria in this closed system.
      • This yields distilled/deionized water that is free of organics and bacteria with a resistance of 18 megohms/cm2 at 25°C and is free of particulate matter down to 0.2 microns. The optimum resistance that can be achieved with this system is 18 megohms/cm2.
    • If a higher purity or resistant grade of distilled/deionized water is needed for any special purposes, it will be the investigator's responsibility to obtain it through other sources (e.g., double-distillation, and/or purchasing specially prepared water).
  3. Media Preparation (autoclaved and/or filter-sterilized)
    • The goal of the media preparation service is to alleviate some of the burden of preparing routine and large volumes of media by the laboratory staff. It is not intended to be used for preparation of all the media for each laboratory.
    • Requests for media preparation must be made 3-4 days in advance for media requiring autoclaving, and at least one week for media requiring filter-sterilization.
    • Service is provided on a "no charge" basis with the following requirements:
      • Plates, culture bottles, or appropriate containers must be provided.
      • Recipes/instructions clearly defined for preparation.
      • Materials and supplies.
      • Special solutions to be added, e.g., antibiotic solutions.
    • Type and quantity that can be made:
      • Culture media with no less than 1 liter requested (can no longer accept requests for "10" plates, 0.25 liter, or 0.5 liter).
      • "No special" media requiring numerous (more than 3) additions before and/or after sterilization unless the total volume exceeds 1 liter.
  4. Dry-ice and Flaked ice
    • Each individual lab and/or investigator will be responsible for obtaining dry ice by contacting Jan McGinity, Chemistry, 024 Hahn Hall @ 1-7795 and setting up an account. Flaked ice is available on a continuous basis.
  5. Laundry Service for Research Staff
    • Laundry service provided for research laboratories at Phase II and CMMID at Prices Fork Road. Pick-up and delivery is once a week on Wednesdays.
    • Labs and/or investigators will need to purchase lab coats when needed for their personnel by contacting an outside vendor such as Fisher Scientific or VWR Scientific.

Using the Glassware and Media Preparation Service Laboratory


  1. Glassware Service Requests
    • Dirty glassware will be cleaned within two working days. In emergency cases only, glassware can be cleaned within one-day limit. Labs are responsible for delivering and picking up their glassware and sterilized items.
    • All chemical bottles, etc. must be rinsed prior to being sent to the glassware room. The glassware service is not equipped to handle any radioactive contaminated glassware or toxic chemicals.
    • Test tubes (in excess of 20 or more) should be rinsed with water and inverted in baskets provided by the glassware service. Test tubes with diameters less than 1/2" need to be placed in baskets with inserts.
    • When working with animal blood, protein, and/or staining solutions, soak glassware and pipettes in bleach or 2% micro solution before sending to glassware room.
    • For laboratory identification purposes, all glassware should be labeled by etching or by using permanent indelible ink.
    • Dispose of all "SHARPS" which are "medical-looking" into some type of hard plastic container with a closable top such as:
      • Commercial red plastic "SHARPS" containers.
      • Clorox-type plastic bottles, milk jugs with screw caps, any hard plastic food or cleaning supply bottle or jars.
      Place an orange BIOHAZARD sticker on all non-commercial "SHARPS" containers.
      Place autoclave tape and a Laboratory Identification sticker on all "SHARPS" containers.

      "SHARPS" (infectious and non-infectious) includes: needles*, syringes, glass slides, pipette tips, razor blades*, scalpels*, Pasteur pipettes, all other pipettes, all animal blood or serum tubes for disposal, all other glass tubes, broken plastic, small disposable filters, disposable loops, toothpicks, swabs, capillary tubes, glass petri dishes, metal spatulas, droppers, glass vials, and any glass, plastic, or metal which can puncture a biohazard bag.

      * For needles, razor blades, and scalpels, see glassware technician to obtain "SHARPS" containers for these items. Non-commercial clorox-type containers cannot be used.
    • Dispose of all biologicals, paper, plastics, and media/buffers in orange or clear BIOHAZARD bags. There cannot be any "SHARPS" in these bags since they can puncture them. Place autoclave tape and Laboratory Identification sticker on each bag and secure bag with masking tape or rubber bands provided with bags.
      • Biologicals include: blood clots, mice, bedding, small body parts, fluids, - No preserved tissues
      • Paper Wastes include: disposable gloves, disposable centrifuge tubes, all other plastic tubes, specimen containers, tissue culture flasks, contaminated packaging materials, petri plates, microtiter plates, and miscellaneous plastic supplies that are not "SHARPS."
      • Media/Buffer Wastes include: contaminated media, buffers, and solutions which cannot go down the sink drain (such as agar).
    • Sign the "Steam Sterilization Log Sheet" including date, start time, operator, Lab or PI, sterilizer used, contents/type, weight, and cycle length.
    • Animal carcasses that are non-infectious for humans (includes toxic preserved carcasses): Dispose of these tissues and carcasses in heavy bags and place them in brown bags in the CMMID Necropsy cold room. At Phase II, check with the Necropsy technician @ 14619 before taking brown bags to Necropsy. Do not use red, orange, or clear bags.
    • Human blood, placentas, infected large animal carcasses (potential human pathogens): The only acceptable way to dispose of these materials is by packing them in double red bags in the boxes provided by the infectious waste pickup contractor. For Phase II/IV and CMMID labs, call the Hazardous Waste Division of EHSS @ 1-7611 to arrange a pick-up. Prior permission and training by EHSS must be received before working with any human materials.
    • Never mix wastes, e.g., chemical with infectious. Problems arise when chemicals such as phenol and formaldehyde are put into biohazard bags and "SHARPS" containers that are then autoclaved.
    • Laundry service is provided for research laboratories. Please sign up when turning in dirty laundry (include name, date, size, item, and number). Label all lab coats, coveralls, scrub tops, scrub pants, etc. on the inside of collar or waistband of the garment with some form of lab identification. Include:
      • Name or Lab
      • VET. MED.
      • Code 51-C-316 (for Phase II) or Code 51-C-309 (for CMMID).
  2. Media Service Requests
    • Individuals requesting media must provide the following:
      • Petri dishes, culture bottles, or appropriate containers.
      • Clearly defined recipes and/or instructions for preparation.
      • Dehydrated media, supplements (such as prepared antibiotic solutions), and chemicals (NaCl, etc.).
    • Requests for media preparation can be made by e-mailing , or calling 1-4829 or 1-4517.
    • Room 109A, Bldg. 441A (CMMID) is available to anyone needing to make up media.
    • Advance notice is needed to reserve a time. Please contact Jen Mirabella at 1-4829 or 1-4517.

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