Potentiometry measures the potential difference between an indicator electrode in a solution and a reference electrode. This provides a quantitative non-destructive measurement of a liquid sample. A common electrode is the glass-membrane electrode used in a pH meter., but various indicator electrodes are designed for specifically for various solutions. The potentiostat is an unloved staple in most wet-labs […]
Category: Articles
Pairing Plastic Printed Parts Professionally with 3DHubs
Last week we saw Holden Lab at Newcastle University start a discussion about using threaded fasteners to secure 3D printed parts. Dr. Robert LeSuer pointed out an extremely thorough discussion on the matter on 3DHubs.com . 3DHubs has an incredible wealth of information on DIY construction, including an amazing cost analysis of 3D printing vs […]
Low-cost Rapid Prototyping of Flexible Microfluidic Devices
The LabOnTheCheap blog came about as a result of explaining to various groups that we made microfluidic chambers using parafilm with a $150 knife printer , and then sealed the microfluidic device with UV glue cured by a $10 UV nail dryer. With this website, all I have to do is send someone the link […]
ElectroPen: An ultralow-cost piezoelectric electroporator
Electroporation is a powerful alternative to heat shock for delivering small molecules such as plasmids across cell membranes. By application of an electrical field netivetly charged DNA is forced into elector-competent cells by an electrohoresis-type effect. Electroporators can be expensive, generally over $2000, hence the popularity of more chemical solutions such as heat shock. Enter […]
Smartphone Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Want to do portable florescence spectroscopy on the cheap? Hojeong Yu, Yafang Tan, and Brian T. Cunningham wrote a 2014 paper that demonstrates that a smartphone camera, attached to a set of optical components that provide wavelength dispersion and a green laser pointer, can function as a sensitive fluorescence spectrometer.