An incubator is basically an equipment which will provide you with a specific and controlled environment where you can regulate temperature, humidity and ventilation properly. Incubators are used for taking care of young babies, hatch eggs and also for cultivating microorganisms which can be used for making new medicinal drugs and conduct further research studies.
What are Lab Incubators Made Of?
A laboratory incubator is mainly made with three types of materials. These are the common stainless steel and sheet metal which generally have a thickness of around 0.5 to 1 cm. There are materials used for creating insulation like fans, nuts, screws and motors. Finally, there are electronic materials that can have either an analogue system or a digital one with programmable microprocessors which can control temperature and provide internal lighting. Incubators are also measured depending upon the volume inside the chambers. The countertop models will range from having 1.5 to 3 cubic meters and the free standing varieties will have a range from 5.5 to 10 cubic meters.
Benefits of the Lab Incubator
Lab incubators were primarily useful as doctors saw that these could be used for identifying different bacterial infections and their development in the human body. This was done by simply obtaining samples of a body fluid and then transferring that on a sterile dish and keeping it inside a lab incubator. The air is kept at body temperature so as to induce the pathogenic growth. Lab incubator will also provide you with a lot of nitrogen growth which is important for promoting cell growth. Such a controlled setting will allow specific microorganisms to grow and multiply which will allow clinicians and researchers to identify different types of bacterial growth.
- Tissue culture: Lab incubators are also useful in tissue culture which is a type of a clinical research procedure which will take out tissues from different parts of animals and plants. The samples would then be placed within the incubator which has a controlled temperature. It will be monitored for future growth. When you observe the tissue fragments, one can gain a lot of insights about the manner in which various forms of cells are operating, interacting and multiplying. This is significant as it will help scientists to study and understand how cancer cells grow and multiply. Also several types of diseases can be cured by creating vaccines, like influenza, polio, mumps and so on.
- Lab incubators are also used for genetic engineering. This is a procedure where researchers try to manipulate the genetic materials of a tissue. In some cases, DNA is combined from other sources to develop newer organisms. These procedures are helpful for creating sperm banks, eugenics, cloning and so on.
Incubators have different applications in different industries Lab incubators are required to do extremely precise and accurate work so they need specific settings with regards to humidity, moisture and temperature controls. Researchers and lab workers will be able to work better with these equipment and discover new things in this manner.