1. Laboratory Orientation

2. Objectives Practical biochemistry course is designed to teach
students the fundamental techniques used in
biochemistry.
In this course students will be exposed to some
biochemical procedures and experiments commonly
used in biochemistry laboratories and to provide a
basis for understanding how biochemical data is
obtained, analyzed and presented.

3. 1- Lab Instructions Time for practical session is 2 hours.
The student must read biochemical background of
experiment before attending the practical session.
The biochemical basis of practical session will be explained
by tutor.
Quizzes in biochemical basis of practical will be given
during lab session.
Quizzes cannot be repeated.
Quiz questions are designed so that they can be answered
in 5 minutes.
Practical work will be performed by students under
supervision of staff.
Laboratory report will be presented.

4. 2- Laboratary regulations
Students are required to attend all lab sessions.
Student must attend the lab session at proper group
and proper time.
The class is divided into groups of approximately 2-4
students under demonstrators guidance during the class.
Students are not allowed to change practical session
without the permission of the course tutor.
Change of session is only permitted for students who
presented official medical excuse.
Attendance will be recorded by the demonstrators.
At the end of each laboratory session, students have to
wash glass wares that have been used and clean their
work space.

5. Laboratory rules
Do not eat food, drink beverages, or chew gum in the laboratory. 
2. Be prepared for your work in the laboratory:
Read all procedures thoroughly before entering the laboratory. 
Never mess around in the laboratory. 
3. Always work in a well-ventilated area. 
4. Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times (keep your bag outside).
5. Be alert and proceed with caution at all times in the laboratory.  Notify the tutor immediately of any unsafe conditions you observe.

6. 3- Safety measures CLOTHING
1. Wear safety goggles any time chemicals, heat, or glassware are used.
2. No Contact lenses to be worn in lab.
3. Dress properly during lab activity 
- Long hair must be tied back,
- Dangling jewelry, and loose or baggy
clothing must be secured. 
- Shoes must completely cover the foot 
- A lab coat should be worn

7. 3- Safety measures b. Handling glass ware and equipment
Examine glassware before each use Never use chipped, cracked, or dirty glassware
Never handle broken glass with your bare hands.  Use a brush and dustpan to clean up broken glass.  Place broken glass in the designated glass disposal container.
3. Do not immerse hot glassware in cold water.  The glassware may shatter.

8. 3- Safety measures c. Heating substances
During using hot plate, take care that hair, clothing, and hands are at a safe distance from the hot plate at all times. 
Use tongs or heat protective gloves if necessary.
Heated glassware should be set aside in a designated place to cool, and picked up with caution. 
Never look into a container that is being heated.
Do not place hot apparatus directly on the laboratory desk.  Always use an insulated pad. 

9. 3- Safety measures d. Handling chemicals
All chemicals in the laboratory are to be considered dangerous. Do not taste, or smell any chemicals. 
Check the label on all chemical bottles twice before use. 
Never return unused chemicals to their original container
Never remove chemicals or other materials from the laboratory area
Dispose all chemical waste properly. 
Labels and equipment instructions must be read carefully before use. 

10. Keep hands away from face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals or lab equipment. 
Wash your hands with soap and water after performing all experiments. 
All pipetting must be performed with the use of a mechanical device. Oral pipetting is to be avoided.
Strong acids, alkalis and other toxic substances should always be handled with great care.
Student should develop and display good techniques and working habits such as proper and efficient use of laboratory reagents, equipment and instruments.
Students will be held responsible for careless handling and breakage of glassware and apparatus.

11. Fume hood
A fume hood or fume cupboard used to limit a person's exposure to hazardous fumes

12. Dangerous to the environment Carcinogenic or dangerous
Different labels used in labs
Corrosive
Harmful
Dangerous to the environment
Explosive
Inflammable
Oxidizable
Carcinogenic or dangerous

13. 4- General Laboratory supplies
Laboratory ware
Most of laboratory ware used in biochemistry laboratory is made of either glass or plastic.

14. Test tubes
Available in different lengths and widths to serve a varying number of needs.
Usually used for liquid samples, during chemical procedures and experiments
Often, formed of Pyrex to allow heating of samples.
Types of tubes
Test tubes
Centrifuge tubes
Sample tubes

15. Test tube Racks Made from wood, iron or plastic.
Available in different sizes

16. Beakers A simple container for liquids.
Very commonly used in laboratories for boiling and preparing solution.
Generally cylindrical in shape, with a flat bottom.
Available in a wide range of sizes, from 1 mL up to several litres

17. Flasks
A flask has a wide "body" and narrow neck with an opening at the top
They have different sizes
They are used for:
- making, collecting and measuring solutions
- chemical reactions, mixing, heating, cooling or dissolving,
Several types having different functions;
The most common types are:
Erlenmeyer flasks
Volumetric flasks
Boiling flasks

18. Erlenmeyer Flasks (Conical flasks)
Used for simple measuring, storing and mixing of liquids
It has a conical base with a cylindrical neck.
Usually marked on the side (graduated) to indicate the volume of their contents.

19. Boiling Flask- Florence Flask
Flat Bottom Boiling Flasks
Round Bottom Boiling Flasks
Used for uniform heating and ease of swirling
Has a round body with a single long neck and with either a flat or a round bottom.

20. Volumetric Flasks
Used to measure a very precise and accurate amount of a liquid.
Come with a stopper or cap.

21. Measuring cylinders
Graduated cylinders are used for accurate measurements of different volumes of liquid.
Glass cylinder
Plastic cylinders

22. Funnels Uses: To hold filter papers when filtering fluid
For pouring liquid into narrow neck containers.
They have different sizes.

23. Reagents Bottles
They are available in different sizes and may be made of
brown colored glass.

24. Dispensers
Used to deliver liquids including strong acids, alkalis and solvents.

25. Thermometers
A thermometer is a device which measures temperature

26. Pipettes Used to transport a measured volume of liquid. Types:
1. Automatic pipettes
2. Glass pipettes

27. 1. Automatic pipettes They may be of fixed or variable volume Types
Micropipettes: dispense from 1 μl to 1000 μl
Macropipettes: dispense a greater volume of liquid.
Replacement tips

28. 2. Glass pipettes 1. Bulb pipettes: Calibrated for a single volume.
Typical volumes:
10, 25, and 50 ml.
2.Graduated pipettes:
Straight-walled,
Graduated for different volumes as 1, 2, 5 & 10 ml.

29. Pipette Pumps and Bulbs
Both Pumps and Bulbs are used to fill glass pipettes
Bulbs

30. Pasteur pipettes Used to transfer small quantities of liquids.
Glass Pasteur pipettes: glass tubes tapered to a narrow point, and fitted with rubber bulb at the top
Plastic Pasteur pipette
made of single plastic piece.

31. Droppers
Graduated droppers
Ungraduated droppers

32. Burette
Used to dispense known amounts of a Liquid reagent in titration experiments.
They vary in sizes
The outflow of liquid from burette is usually controlled by a stopcock.

33. Wash Bottles
Formed from Polyethylene

34. 5- General Laboratory Equipments
Centrifuge
Vortex mixer and magnetic stirrer
Water bath and shaker
Hot plate and Hot oven
Balances
Colorimeter and Spectrophotometer

35. Centrifuge
An instrument that accelerates gravitational separation of substances which have different masses
Used to:
1-Separate particles from solution in which they are suspended (e.g. separation of cells from blood to provide cell-free plasma
2- Separate 2 liquids of different densities (e.g. extracting solute from aqueous to organic solvents)
Figure 8 Centrifuge

36. Magnetic stirrer with magnets
Stirrer bar: is a magnetic bar used to stir a chemical mixture or solution.
Vortex mixer for stirring and mixing of liquids in test tubes and other small vessels
Vortex mixer

37. Water Bath

38. Hot ovens
Hot plate
Used for heating tasks

39. Electronic Balance

40. Colorimeter/Spectrophotometer
Principle: Many important biological solutions are estimated as colored solutions, in which the intensity of the color is proportional to the concentration of the biological substance.
Widely used in biochemistry for quantitative analysis of bio-molecules

41. Difference between colorimeter and spectrophotometer
Spectrophotometers are used in the UV and visible regions of the spectrum.
Colorimeters are used only in the visible regions of the spectrum.