An autoclave is an essential tool in medicine and science because this tool can be used to sterilize things to eliminate bacteria, fungi, and other harmful microorganisms that can make things dirty.
The process of sterilization is critical. So it makes sense that having an autoclave is so essential.
It’s important to know that using an autoclave to sterilize something is a wet process. This is done by using high-pressure saturated steam evaporation at a temperature of up to 121 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
You need to know two things about which tools can and cannot be put in an autoclave.
An autoclave can be used to sterilize the following tools:
- Pyrez/borosilicate glasses, flasks, beakers, and glass Petri dishes are all very fragile.
- Culture media, biological culture, stock, pipette tips, gloves, and plastic Petri dishes.
- Other tools are plastics and stainless steel (polypropylene and polycarbonate).
An autoclave can’t be used to sterilize all laboratory equipment because the equipment could be dangerous. Using an autoclave, you can’t sterilize the following things:
- Tools with materials that are flammable, corrosive, reactive, toxic (including those with bleach), or radioactive.
- Tissue that was set in paraffin.
- Any liquid in a container that has a lid. You can put the liquid in the container into the autoclave if it is only two-thirds full and the lid is not tight.
Metal Tools
1. Tray
A metal tray or tray without a lid is used to hold tools that have not been cleaned.
2. Tray With Cover
A metal tray or tray with a lid is often used to hold clean tools.
3. Pinset
The tool is used to clamp small things together.
4. Forceps
A piece of medical equipment that has two parts that face each other. A tool can be turned on or off by loosening or pressing on the handle.
5. Needle Holders
A medical tool that holds needles in place so they can be used to stitch open wounds.
6. Scissors
These scissors are used in medicine to cut the thread and other things.
7. Scalpel
A scalpel or scalpel is a tool used in medicine that can be used to cut or tear things.
Glass Tools
1. Beaker
A beaker is a tool that is used to dissolve chemicals that are solid, liquid, paste, or powder. It is also used to get chemicals to react with each other.
2. Test tube
Lab equipment made of glass or plastic helps mix, store, and heat liquid or solid chemicals for quantitative tests.
3. Erlenmeyer Tube
This cone-shaped tube with a cylindrical neck is made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass. It has a flat bottom and is shaped like a flask. Serves to measure, mix, and divert liquids.
Erlenmeyer flask or flasks come in different sizes, from 50 ml to 500 ml. Erlenmeyer is a place where microorganisms are grown in the microbiology lab.
4. Volumetric flask
A volumetric flask is a piece of lab equipment used to dilute a solution by a certain amount. This lab tool is better at measuring than a measuring cup or beaker.
This is because the neck of this tool has a circle with the words “gradation,” “volume,” “tolerance,” “temperature,” “calibration,” and “glass grade” on it. There is also a sign that says the volume can only be between 1 and 2 liters.
5. Measuring cup
A measuring cup or measuring cylinder is a tool used to measure a specific volume of a solution when accuracy is not as important.
It looks like a pipe with legs and a lip for pouring to make it easier to use.
6. Drop pipette
A dropper or dropper pipette is used to move small amounts of liquid from one place to another. Most of the time, just a few milliliters of liquid are taken.
7. Volume Pipette
The volume pipette is used to take a small amount of a solution. Has more accurate measurements than a measuring cup.
Volume pipettes are also called “goiter pipettes” because the middle part of the pipette is more significant than the rest.
8. Watch glass
A watch glass is a clear, disc-shaped dish used to measure weight.
Not only is the watch glass used to weigh solids or liquids, but it is also used to cover the container when it is being heated or evaporated.
9. Petri dish
A petri dish, also called a petridish, is a glass or plastic container used to grow bacteria, spores, seeds, and other things.
10. Stirring Rod
The stirring rod’s purpose is to ensure that liquids and other chemicals are thoroughly mixed. The mixing rod is made of borosilicate and solid glass (pyrex).
In addition to being used as a stirrer, the stirring rod helps the solution drain, causes crystallization, and breaks up an extraction’s emulsion.
Porcelain Tools
1. Drip Plate
The drip plate is a piece of lab equipment used to test how acidic or react to a solution is. Most drip plates have more than one basin (6, 12, and 16 basins).
2. Mortar and Pestle
Mortar and pestle (pestle) are laboratory tools used to crush or smooth something that is still solid or crystalline.
An autoclave can be used to clean and sterilize tools like these. It’s important to know that there are many different kinds of autoclaves that work in different ways. So make sure you have the right autoclave.