Biological and chemical laboratories handle different chemicals, reagents, and samples for various experiments. Using equipment made up of plastics is not practical in many instances because plastic can melt or have adverse reactions with the chemical. The use of glassware is applicable for storing chemicals or performing different experiments.
The glass used in constructing the glassware is either borosilicate or soda-lime glass. The soda-lime is less tolerant to chemicals and has lesser hydrolytic resistance. So, soda-lime glassware is useful as a storage container. Borosilicate glass can tolerate chemicals like acids, halogens, and organic solvents. Only acids like hydrofluoric heated phosphoric acids or strong alkaline solutions can cause corrosion in the glass. That is why borosilicate glass is preferred over soda-lime glass.
Laboratories that use glassware are microbiology, clinical or diagnostic, chemistry, and different biological laboratories. Glassware commonly used in these laboratories are Petri dishes, beakers, conical (Erlenmeyer) flasks, funnel, cylinders, etc.
Table of Contents
List of Glassware Used in Laboratory
The use of glassware is to store chemicals (liquid or solid), prepare reagents, mix chemicals, and perform different experiments.
Petri dish
Petri dish is glassware used in different biological laboratories, especially microbiology laboratories, to culture bacteria, fungi, or cell lines. The Petri dish is a shallow, circular, and transparent glassware invented by the scientist Richard Julius Petri. A transparent lid covers the base which is slightly larger in diameter.
The types of Petri dish differs extensively based on their size. The diameter ranges from 30 mm to 200 mm. The standard diameter used is 90 mm.
Beaker
Beakers are cylindrical containers that hold chemicals and liquids in laboratories. It is called a beaker due to a beak-like spout at the top to prevent spilling while pouring fluids.
These are available in various sizes. Volumetric markings are present in the beaker, but these are not precise. The beakers are of two types; low form or Griffin beakers and tall or Berzelius beakers. The tall-form beakers have handles for easy pouring, but handles may be absent in low-form ones.
Test tube
Test or sample tubes are cylindrical glassware with finger-length that is useful to collect, heat, or gently mix samples/chemicals in laboratories. These can withstand high temperatures due to the borosilicate or quartz glass used for their construction. These are round at the bottom, and the top is open.
These have uses in chemistry and biological laboratories for conducting different experiments. In diagnostic laboratories, these help in the collection of samples and for storing chemicals. The use of color-coded lids is popular in clinical laboratories.
Conical flask
A conical or Erlenmeyer flask, named after the inventor German chemist Emil Richard August Carl Erlenmeyer, is glassware with a shape like cone with a flat bottom and cylindrical neck. These are useful as reaction flasks, especially during titration or making culture media manually. Like beakers, these also have markings that are not accurate.
Erlenmeyer flask is available in various sizes based on volume/size and mouth. The size of the conical flask available is 25 ml, 50 ml, 100 ml, 125 ml, 150 ml, 250 ml, 300 ml, 500 ml, 100 ml, 2000 ml, 3000 ml, 4000 ml, 5000 ml, and 6000 ml. Two types of flasks based on the mouth are; wide mouth and narrow mouth.
Graduated pipettes
Graduated pipettes are glassware with graduation marks for precise measurements. It has use in transferring liquids, drawing up samples or chemicals, and performing many more experiments. The pipettes are cylindrical tube-like structures. Some graduated pipettes have a bulb in between and a marking on the top part that indicates its volume capacity. Others have markings at an interval of 0.1 to 1 ml, depending on the pipette size.
Volumetric burette
A volumetric burette is a laboratory glassware with graduation marks that are commonly useful in titration. It has long cylindrical tube like body with slightly pointed bottom. There is a stopcock in the bottom of the burette to control the flow of the liquid. It is of two types; gas and liquid volumetric burette. The liquid falls due to gravity when the valve opens. In the case of a gas volumetric burette, the stopcock is at the top. The tube fills with water or mercury and connects to a reservoir with fluid at the base. The collection of gas occurs by displacement of the liquid.
Round bottom flask
As the name suggests, it is a flask with a round or circular base or bottom. These flasks are applicable for distillation and gas preparation in the laboratory. While working with a round bottom flask, a cork ring keeps it upright. Likewise, while performing the experiment stand holds it.
The material of RB is borosilicate glass and the flask is available in various sizes. The neck of the round bottom flask can be narrow, wide, or have a ground glass joint. Likewise, the number of necks can also vary from single, twin, and triple-necked.
Volumetric flask
A volumetric flask is laboratory glassware applicable for precise measurements at a specific temperature. The base of the volumetric flask is flat, and the bottom has pear like shape. The neck is long and cylindrical, with a calibrated marking for the volume it can measure.
It is useful for preparing molar solutions in the laboratory for various analyses. The apparatus is available in different volumes from 1 ml to 2000 ml. These lack graduation marks.
Microscope Slide
A slide or microscope slide is a thin piece of glass 3 by 1 inch in size. It is useful to hold samples and specimens for viewing under a microscope. The slide can be either plain or frosted at the end. The frosted glass slide is helpful in the preparation of blood smears.
The glass slide has staining purpose for biological specimens before observing them under the microscope. It is widely used in diagnostic, microbiological, botanical, and zoology laboratories.
Stirring rods
Stirring or glass rods are laboratory glassware useful for mixing liquids. It is made up of solid borosilicate glass. Another use of a stirring rod is in spreading bacterial culture in solid growth media and conducting various tests. It is made up of a single piece of thin glass. It is usually 10-40 cm long and 0.5 cm in diameter.
Glass tube
Glass tubes are hollow cylindrical glassware useful for tubing purposes. It is also useful to make a delivery tube and transfer reagents.
A triangular file helps in cutting of the glass tube in the laboratory. Heating over the Bunsen burner helps bend the glass tube into the desired shape. Hence these are useful in the laboratory preparation of gases.
Graduated cylinders
A graduated or measuring cylinder is a glassware that are useful in the laboratory for measuring the volume of liquids. It is available in different sizes. The cylinder is a long cylinder. It has horizontal graduation marks for precisely measuring the volume. The upper part of the cylinder is open and has a spout or beak-like shape for easy pouring. Some have ground joint glass and can be closed by using a stopcock.
Accuracy classes available for graduated cylinders are of two types; class A and B. Class is two times more accurate than class B. The graduation mark can be single- or double-scaled. The calibration is either to deliver (TD) or to contain (TC).
Funnel
Funnels are laboratory glassware that is useful for filtering and transferring purposes. It has a narrow neck that allows only specific volumes of chemicals to flow through. Using filter paper helps in performing filtration in the laboratory. It is also useful for transferring fine-graded chemicals and liquids from one container to another. Using these kinds of funnel help avoid spillage in the laboratory. Other experiments where funnels are useful are separating mixed compounds by evaporation and condensation.
Reagent bottle
This bottle is constructed using borosilicate glass which is topped by a stopper. It is also called graduated or media bottles. The primary purpose of this bottle is to store reagents and solutions in the laboratory.
Retort
A glass retort is an airtight vessel useful for distillation purposes. It has a spherical or circular container with a narrow and downward-facing neck. The open end has a stopper made up of glass to make it airtight. The slim neck acts as a condenser during distillation.
Specific gravity bottle
The specific gravity, density, or relative-density bottle is useful in determining the densities of liquid. The density helps in calculating the specific gravity of the liquid. These are made up of glass and have caps to prevent evaporation. Some bottles have graduated necks that help in easy measurements. The size and shapes of this bottle vary widely.
McCartney bottle
These bottles are glassware with aluminum or plastic caps used as culture media in microbiological laboratories. These are wide mouth thick glass containers. The lids are sealed to create an airtight environment inside the bottles. These bottles are autoclavable.
Distillation flask
A distillation or distilling flask is a glassware useful in the laboratory to separate two different liquids of different boiling points. The flask has round bottom for even heat dispersion, a long neck, and a sidearm for condensation. Flask with two or more necks is also available for complex distillation.
Flat bottom flask
The construction of flat bottom flask is from borosilicate glass and are useful for boiling purposes. The shape of the vessels resembles the round bottom flask, except its base is flat instead of rounded. It has a similar neck to that of the round bottom flask.
Ebulliometer
Ebulliometer are glassware applicable to measure the temperature of different liquids by measuring the vapor-liquid equilibrium. There are two types of ebulliometer based on the principle used to measure the equilibrium; isothermal or isobaric ebulliometer. Swietoslawski ebulliometer, based on the isobaric method, has four major parts; boiler, thermowell, Cotterell pumps, and condenser. Besides the above parts, a stirring pump is present in an isothermal ebulliometer.
Abderhalden’s drying pistols
Abderhalden’s drying pistols are laboratory glassware useful to dry out or remove water molecules and impurities from the samples. Earl Abderhaldem provided a brief description of this pistol. The apparatus has two barrels; the inner one connects to the vacuum source with the help of a trap, and the outer barrel connects to the condenser and round bottom flask. This apparatus helps in the desiccation of heat-sensitive compounds when desiccators are ineffective.
Desiccators
Desiccators are laboratory glassware used to dry wet substances or store substances that are sensitive to moisture. The desiccators are more effective when used with a vacuum. It has different parts like lid, base, and stopcocks. The caps are sealed tight. There are different types of desiccators; vacuum, automatic, gas, and purge desiccators.
Watch glass
It is a concave glass applicable in evaporating liquid in a chemistry laboratory by placing it on top of a beaker with boiling water. Watch glass is also known as clock glass. It is also useful to hold solid substances and as a cover for beakers.
Cleaning of Laboratory Glassware
Glass equipment is preferrable over plastic because it is reusable, durable, easy to clean, and appropriate for almost all experiments. So, cleaning laboratory glassware properly after every use is essential to avoid cross-contamination. Solids can deposit in the base of the glassware, small ions can firmly adhere to the surface of the glassware, or organic materials can bond with the glass. So, prepper solvent, surfactant, and cleaning methods are vital for reusing glassware.
General cleaning method
- Cleaning general laboratory apparatus
- Remove any remnant liquid or solid deposits in the glass and wipe any greasy substances using acetone and clean clothes.
- Wash the glassware gently in soapy water.
- Use a brush or cleaning pad to remove any residues.
- Rinse with water, followed by rinsing with deionized water. The deionized water forms a sheet in the glass. If this sheet is not present, follow an aggressive cleaning technique.
- In the case of burettes, pipettes, tubes, and volumetric flasks, rinse with the solution to be added thoroughly before use.
- Dry using acetone and dispose of it in the organic waste container.
- Cleaning glassware with microbiological media
- Remove the media from the container and dispose of it safely.
- Wash the glassware in warm soapy water.
- Rinse it with tap water.
- Using different methods of sterilization like using dry heat in an autoclave.
Mild cleaning method
Solid brittle deposits are removed by scraping using brushes, whereas soft deposits like grease will not entirely be removed by scrubbing. There are also areas in glass where brushes or clothes cannot reach.
Soak in gentle solvents like deionized water, dilute surfactants, concentrated weak acids, dilute phosphate, carbonates, or ammonia, and protein or saccharide solutions hydrolyzing enzymes for long periods can help.
The soaking action is benefitted from a simple mechanical process like stirring, shaking, and sonication.
Another method of cleaning is using organic solvents. Moistening a cloth with organic solvent for an easily accessible surface or agitating solvent inside the container is two methods commonly used. However, organic solvents are flammable and toxic, so proper ventilation, wearing gloves, and personal protective equipment is advised.
Aggressive cleaning method
Even after using organic solvents and mild cleaning methods, residues may not be removed. So removing adhered material is done either by oxidizing the residues or removing the top silicon layer.
Oxidizing contaminants from glassware is done by using various solutions like aqua regia, piranha solutions, fully concentrated sulfuric acids, pyrosulfuric acid, and chromic acid solution. Aqua regia is an aqueous nitric and hydrochloric acid solution in a 1:3 ratio.
The chromic acid solution is prepared by adding solid chromium (IV) oxide, potassium dichromate, or potassium chromate to the sulfuric acid. Piranha solution is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide the fully concentrated sulfuric acid. Fuming sulfuric acid has sulfur trioxide (10-20%) that makes pyrosulphuric acid.
The glass used to make the glassware has polysilicate solids and oxides. It also has sodium or potassium. The surface of the glass binds with hydroxyl and oxide, which is attached to silicon. Sometimes these surface functional groups bind to the contaminant, which is hard to remove with simple solvents. So, the silica layer is removed. The removal is done by soaking the glassware for a certain period in dilute hydrofluoric acid or base like potassium and sodium hydroxide in either ethanol or isopropanol.
References
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- Fisher Scientific. [cited 2023Jan18]. Available from: https://www.fishersci.co.uk/gb/en/browse/90111060/distilling-flasks
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