Tools of the trade

[DelawareJim]

I whipped up a quick list of the basic supplies needed to accomplish TC at a minimal level. If anyone can think of something I forgot, shout out.

And maybe the supplies list could be set as a sticky?

Cheers.
Jim

• Murashige and Skoog (MS) plant growth medium
• Benzylaminopurine (BAP), a plant growth hormone that induces shoot formation in leaves
• Plant Preservative Mixture (PPM), a biocide that reduces or eliminates fungal and bacterial contamination in tissue cultures
• Agar
• Forceps - 8 inches (may want 2)
• Baby food jars
• Polypropylene PP #5 plastic (microwavable and autoclavable) baby food jar caps
• Canning jars
• Plastic (regular) pint jar caps
• pH meter or papers
• Measuring spoons for agar and liquid media
• Milliliter measuring tools (transfer pipette or droppers)
• Smidgen spoons for measuring agar
• Dinner plate (to work on)
• Scalpels, kitchen knives, or razor blades for cutting
• 70% isopropyl alcohol
• Bleach
• Distilled water
• Mister bottle for spraying alcohol to sterilize work area
• Clean booth (Sterilite, Rubbermaid container, or DIY PVC tubing and plastic bag
• Glass or PP (#5) jars for alcohol, bleach, tools, and sterile water (olive jars or parmesan cheese jars work well for tools)

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

..a small scale helps a LOT, esp when dealing with non-standard media batches.
I use a Jewelers scale - 0 - 20g that is accurate to milligrams. Ebay. $20-$30 new.

Also, curved tweezers help, but not needed.

Paper towels

Scissors

Saran wrap

Sharpie (fine point is better)

Small labels

Bleach looses its viability after a few months on the shelf. Buy in small quantities and if its older than 6 months - buy a fresher batch. Label the bottle with a purchase date.

Wear short sleeves to reduce the amount of contaminants in the clean box.


...more as I think of them.

[DelawareJim]

Ghazanfar and Ben;

Between Caisson Labs and PhytoTeck Labs which do you prefer, or is there a dark horse out there? The two seem to be six-of-one and half-dozen of the other in pricing.

Cheers.
Jim

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Phytotech has lower pricing on some items and has a large selection of products. Their shipping prices are, however, slightly higher than most.

Caisson has a decent selection of products, but not as many as Phytotech, and in SOME cases, their products are priced slightly higher. Their shipping costs are normal though.

Both have good customer service.

Most other online ordering places do not cater to 'home users'. If you find another one - let us know.

So - when ordering stuff - you can kinda shop around between the two to figure out where you'll end up ordering from.

Most of my stuff has been from Phytotech, but I usually order quite a few things at once to ensure that the shipping costs / lower product prices are worth it.

[DelawareJim]

Thanks. I noticed Caisson and Pytotech are kinda the HD/Lowes type comparison. A tentative order has pretty much been a wash between the two.

I've found a couple other sites that cater to universities and the horticulture industry. Prices aren't bad, but I don't know where our Prez. would store 10,000 culture vessels!

Cheers.
Jim

[Ben Belton]

I agree with GG. Becuse Caisson does not seem to have the selection, I always end up at Phytotech anyway.

An option for some glassware, scalpels, and a few other things is www.indigo.com.

[krisw]

Prices aren't bad, but I don't know where our Prez. would store 10,000 culture vessels!

Who said anything about the Prez storing things? I think I've got the wife veto on my side there.

At the workshop, didn't Carol mention to ask her if we wanted to do group orders because she had contacts at some of the various places and *might* be able to get us a deal? Or, do you think there would be more markup involved that way?

[DelawareJim]

I don't know. When she mentioned that the first business went bankrupt, I was thinking if she were a smart business person, she would have shipped complete kits to herself at the hotel to sell at the class... 20 plus captive audience, all excited about what they did in class, wallets in hand? Ka-Ching!

Cheers.
Jim

[Ben Belton]

I don't know. When she mentioned that the first business went bankrupt, I was thinking if she were a smart business person, she would have shipped complete kits to herself at the hotel to sell at the class... 20 plus captive audience, all excited about what they did in class, wallets in hand? Ka-Ching!

Amen!

[Sonny Disposition]

Over and over again, especially in the workplace, you see that if someone has a particular expertise or talent, their aptitude doesn't necessarily translate to skill at the executive level.

So just because someone is a good fishkeeper, or first rate aquatic gardner, or whatever, doesn't mean that they'll be able to successfully market what they do.