Storage in the Lab

Do you find yourself wondering how long certain things will last in the lab? Questioning whether you should prepare things in bulk for your classes or not? Look no further than this blog post to find some answers to your laboratory preparation and storage questions!

EdvoKit Perishable Components

At Edvotek, we put a lot of effort in to be able to provide you with all the information needed to successfully run each of our experiments. When you order an Edvotek EdvoKit, your items will be shipped to you, and depending on the kit this may include perishable items. For our perishable items, we include storage guidelines as well as the expected shelf life specific to each kit. To make things easier, we print on our perishable bags in a certain way to let you know how to store everything. If you see a green refrigerator printed on your bag, it is meant to be stored in the refrigerator. If you see a blue snowflake printed on your bag it is meant to be stored in the freezer. For some experiments, we include lyophilized components which will be packaged with a desiccant to keep those components dry until you are ready to rehydrate them. 

EdvoKit Box Components

With the perishable components comes the box components as well. You may be familiar with the plastic tubes, pipettes, microtiter plates, and other necessary items needed to complete your experiment. In addition to the plastic items, some kits receive other components that are stable at room temperature. These include things like electrophoresis buffer, agarose, FlashBlue, Practice Gel Loading Solution, and many more depending on the experiment. If the bag that the components are packaged in is not printed with the green or blue designs like the perishable bags, then they are safe and stable when stored at room temperature!

Preparing Ahead of Time

One of the most common questions we receive is based on the preparation and storage of items for your experiments ahead of time. Things like electrophoresis buffers can be diluted and stored at room temperature in a sealable container (like an old water gallon) for several months. If you need to prepare your agarose gels ahead of time to allow your students the optimal time to complete their experiment during class time, that can be done as well! To do this, prepare the agarose as described in the experiment literature, let it solidify in the casting tray, and simply remove the gel from the tray and place it in a ziplock bag with 1-2 mLs of 1X electrophoresis buffer. Then store this in the refrigerator for up to several days, or until you need it.  

Not sure what to do?

Call us! We are always ready to help you out with any questions. We are available via phone from 8 am – 5 pm EST at 1-800-EDVOTEK. Or, if emailing is your preference you can reach out at info@edvotek.com. We are happy to help you with any lab dilemmas!