Home made reagents
cup at bones.biochem.ualberta.ca
Thu Oct 22 10:29:32 EST 1992
Hello again bionetters!!
Thanks again to the senders of superbroth/terrific-broth recipes!
This message concerns something which bugs me alot, is close to my heart and also
to everyone's WALLET. It's also related to the "to use or not to use kits" debate.
I'd like to know how many labs make reagents for themselves or to supply their
group/dept/university? I'm thinking of those reagents that are cheap to make with
a little effort but expensive to buy (it's got to be cost-effective after all).
If there's not much of this going on.... then why not? Is it because science
is usually too competitive most of the time to waste effort on these things...
why make something and give it to the lab down the hall when they won't give
An example from my own experience is making glass-milk. In half a day, I could
probably make enough with $50 of reagents to supply our university for 10 years!!
As it is, I give it away to various labs and then wonder why THEY don't make it :-)
I guess there's not too many genuine philanthropists!!
I also hate buying protein standards, there must be a few choice proteins in
labs around our dept that could be put together in a tube. But even our big
"protein lab" buys from BioRad!!
What about enzymes.... there must be overexpressing clones for things such
as T$ (appropriate typo there :-)) ligase, polymerase etc.
AND what about TAQ polymerase.... do the patent laws prevent me
from making it for my own use/dept use/university use. Where's the line?
I agree, it's probably not worth making everything for oneself, but a little
cooperation between labs in a department could save $$$$ without much expenditure of
time or effort.
So, if anyone has recipes and clones.... I'd very much like to hear from you.
My $$ are not for flushing down the toilet!!
Appologises for rambling on..... and on.....
Chris_Upton at darwin.biochem.ualberta.ca
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB T6H 2H7
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