We have grouped them for you, and we have also added some non-AMSBIO related suggestions. We hope you find this helpful.
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April 5, 2023On the 22nd April 2023, it’s Earth Day.
At AMSBIO we understand that it can feel like an impossible task trying to maintain rigorous scientific standards in your lab whilst also trying to watch your environmental impact. That’s why this month we have compiled a list of some of the products that you might want to consider when making informed choices.
REDUCE
Reduce Dry Ice, Packaging and Electricity Usage
Some of our products come in a lyophilized or freeze-dried format. This means they do not need to be transported at low temperatures and removes the need for dry ice. They also reduce the need for -80℃ storage so lowers your electricity consumption.
- Ambient temperature Total RNA – Total RNA isolation is performed using proprietary techniques and contamination by RNase, genomic DNA polysaccharides, and proteoglycans has been effectively eliminated, and maintains the integrity of the RNA for downstream processes. This RNA can be used instead of frozen.
- Recombinant Proteins – AMSBIO also provides some recombinant Proteins in a lyophilized state which can be used instead of frozen.
- Exosome Standards – AMSBIO’s Exosome Standards are lyophilized, so can be transported without dry ice which is more common. All our exosomes have long term stability at 4-8℃.
- Collagenase – All of our collagenases are lyophilized (this is not standard in the market) so again, can be transported without dry ice and do not need to be stored at low temperatures.
- Your RNA – If you collect, use or store RNA in your lab, we offer a suite of products to allow you to do so at room temperature. RNAdvantage™ can be used instead of flash freezing your tissue RNA samples, keeping them for 7-14 days. RNAssure™ allows you to keep purified RNA samples for 3 days at room temperature, and 2 weeks at 4 °C, and RNArchive allows you to store RNA in solid or liquid form at room temperature for years without loss in RNA integrity.
Reduce your electricity usage
There are a number of basic things you can do in your lab to help with electricity usage:
- Turn things off when not in use – this includes lights, computers and lab equipment.
- Manage your freezers – if you can use one freezer instead of two this will massively drop your energy consumption. For example, freeze samples in the smallest containers possible, manage your inventories and dispose of expired samples, and if you always have extra space, share with another lab.
- Close fume hood sashes – One of the most effective ways to reduce energy consumption in a lab is to close the sash when the hood is not in use I.e., when you are not setting up or modifying an experiment. An open fume sash can use as much energy daily as 3-4 homes.
Reduce the use of animals in science
Some of our products have animal free options that can potentially be substituted for ones that contain animal components depending on your application.
Collagenase:
- Collagenase AF-1 GMP Grade & Neutral Protease AF GMP Grade enzymes are animal free and can be used instead of other collagenases which are animal derived.
Chondroitinase:
- Chondriotinase ABC does not contain Bovine Serum albumin which is generally present in other chondroirinase products
Extracellular Matrices:
- MAPTrix™ is a recombinant Animal Free Extracellular Matrix that can be used instead of animal derived ECMs.
- MatriMix: Whilst it is not completely animal free, our new MatriMix hydrogel contains a much lower amount of animal components than products like Matrigel™, and uses medical grade porcine collagen rather than mice-derived components.
Cell Culture Medium Supplement
- XerumFree™is a fully defined, animal-component free cell culture supplement to support your cell culture research.
REUSE
- Exosome Isolation Kits – AMBIO’s Tangential Flow Filters (TFF) and Size Exclusion Chromatography Columns (SECC) are both reusable, and allow you to isolate Exosomes multiple times in the lab. In addition, by isolating your own exosomes rather than purchasing them, you can reduce transport emissions.
- Reuse your packaging – AMSBIO makes a point of reusing our packaging where possible. You can save the packaging and these to store or ship your own samples.
RECYCLE
Recycle Your Packaging
It can be difficult to know what can be recycled, but some of our suppliers are making efforts to make this easier.
- AMSBIO ships with cardboard where possible rather than polystyrene to use packaging that can be recycled.
- Nordmark collagenases are moving over to packaging made from sugarcane that is nearly CO2 neutral and are 100% recyclable. Currently this is used for their Collagenase NB 6 GMP Grade 1 g and 100 mg as well as their Collagenase NB 5 Sterile Grade and will be transitioning the others products to this packaging over time.
Make it Easier to Recycle
One of the big barriers to recycling is often availability and knowledge.
- Have a recycling policy which lays out what you’d like to achieve in the lab and how you intend to do it.
- Provide recycling bins in or near your lab with signs as to what can be recycled so that it’s easy to do.
- Train lab personnel so that they know what can and can’t be recycled.
RETHINK
- Your Purchase Process – A simple way to reduce the amount of transport emissions is to combine your deliveries. Think what you need, plan in advance, and try and buy things together.
We hope you found this useful.
In recognition of Earth Day, and to help support you, any of the products mentioned here* can be purchased online with a 10%, using the code EARTH2023.
If you have any questions about any of these products, please feel free to contact us on [email protected].
*With the exception of our ECM hydrogels
