The laboratories are spaces designated to carry out experimental tasks which may aim to advance science, but also perform other functions, such as quality control or the optimization of certain processes prior to their industrial implementation.
The oldest known laboratory belonged to Pythagoras de Samos, where he analyzed the sounds of different instruments, trying to define certain mathematical norms about sounds.
There is an enormous variety of laboratory types, each of which is specifically suited to the type of research to be carried out, according to both the objective and needs of the researchas with the scientific field in which they are framed.
In this article we will talk about the different types of labs you can find, depending on their goals and characteristics.
Characteristics of the laboratories
The need for experimentation has existed long before the term “science” was used. In fact, the oldest known laboratory supposedly belonged to the famous philosopher and mathematician of ancient Greece, Pythagoras de Samos, around the 5th century BC. In it, Pythagoras analyzed the sonority of different instruments and objects, to draw conclusions about acoustic concepts such as frequencies.
Today we could say that there are practically as many types of laboratory as there are types of experimentation. They are highly specialized spaces, where all aspects, from the architecture of the rooms to the temperature or the amount of contaminating particles can be controlled, to prevent them from influencing the research being carried out.
Each laboratory will contain in its interior a “stock” of laboratory, materials and instruments necessary for the investigation. In biological laboratories, for example, we can expect the presence of incubation devices to facilitate the growth of the organisms being studied. In analytical laboratories, the presence of highly specialized instruments is often necessary to discern the composition of the object of study.
What types of labs are there?
The vast majority of aspects of the laboratory are susceptible to being controlled to accommodate research tasks. Even within the same field of knowledge or specialization, there may be subtle but necessary differences between laboratories.
In spite of the enormous variety of laboratory types that we could extract from this situation, we can comfortably divide them according to their objectives and most outstanding characteristics. We find, for example:
1. Analysis and Quality Control Laboratories
This type of laboratory appears because of the need for scientific spaces. where the components or the quality of the different objects of study are analyzed.. Within them, analyses are carried out that depend on both the object of study and the characteristics being monitored.
While this type of laboratory is often associated with chemical practices, physics or biological sciences, such as microbiology, are not alien to quality control. Water analysis laboratories, for example, necessary for the sanitary and environmental control of water resources, require both chemical and physical and biological knowledge to detect contaminants in water.
2. Biosafety Laboratories
Within biological research, especially that dealing with viruses and bacteria, there is a need to work with pathogens that could pose a serious risk to public healthif they leave the laboratory environment and come into contact with the rest of the population.
Biosafety laboratories are those research sites equipped and constructed for the specific purpose of avoiding the dangerous contamination that could occur in the course of research. These are classified as 4 levels of biosecurityThis is in accordance with the dangerousness of the organisms studied and the methodological and structural decisions taken to prevent them from causing harm to the population.
The lowest level of biosafety is level 1where they work with organisms of little danger, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeasts. Even so, the material of this laboratory and the waste it generates must be disinfected before being discarded, in order to avoid possible unforeseen consequences. It is the most common in high schools and universities.
For contrast, level 4 biosafety laboratory represents the highest level of security and isolation that a biological lab can have. It is where we work with biological agents that are very harmful both at the level of individual life, in addition to representing a great risk to society by their ability to spread, like the Ebola virus.. Within them is necessary the use of insulating suits and many other safety measures that protect both scientists and the population.
In order to be able to work in laboratories with a high level of biosafety, specific training is necessary on the characteristics of the laboratory and the safety measures involved in the handling of highly infectious agents.
3. Clinical Laboratories
Clinical laboratories, also known as medical laboratoriesare those whose main objective is the analysis of various biological samples, such as blood or urine, to assist in the diagnosis, treatment and / or prevention of certain diseases.
In this type of laboratory, the search for scientific knowledge is not usually the priority. They are usually powers linked to health serviceswhere science is applied to improve the quality of treatment for patients. We can find several specializations within the clinical laboratories, depending on their object of study.
Within the different categories of analysis that are carried out, we can find for example:
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Microbiological analyses, for the detection of pathogens
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Biochemical analyses, e.g. to monitor blood composition
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Molecular diagnostics, such as analysis of patients’ DNA
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Analysis of reproduction, typical in fertility clinics, for example controlling gametas such as spermatozoa.
4. Production Laboratories
The transition from research to industrial production is not easy. Some processes that work perfectly on a small scale seem to crumble when carried out on a larger scale and vice versa.
The objective of this type of laboratory is mainly the study and design of the implementation of different technologies and experimental industrial processes to make them viable on a larger industrial scale. These are usually small pilot plants, in which production is gradually scaled up while solutions are sought to problems arising from technological implementation.
We find production laboratories in industries such as pharmaceuticals, technology or biotechnology, for example. They are a necessary step between research and commercial production.
5. White rooms
White rooms do not exist only in the context of the laboratory. They are places manufactured with the intention of maintaining very low levels of pollution, which is necessary for example in the manufacture of surgical medical equipment, but also in the field of manufacturing certain electronic components, such as those that need semiconductors.
These rooms also require special clothing, which their employees wear to minimize the pollution they generate, either by the microorganisms they carry and contain or by the skin particles that we are releasing, which form dust.
Clean rooms even control air flow and pressure. The air entering this type of room is filtered prior to its introduction into the clean room. In addition, an attempt is made to maintain a positive air pressure gradient within the room, i.e., to make the room air more pressurized and to prevent less pressurized outside air from entering the room.
It is very important, for example, in research and production for space, such as satellites.
6. Research and Development Laboratories
Most of the laboratories in which we relate to the term “laboratory” fall into the category of research and development. In fact, biosafety laboratories are considered as research and development (R&D) laboratories.
Basic research is necessary for the advancement of science, within most fields of knowledge. This is carried out in all types of laboratories, such as chemical, physical, biological, technological, etc.. Their characteristics will vary greatly according to the field of research, the experimental needs and the objective being pursued.
Bibliographic references
- World’s Oldest Laboratory?(1990) Analytical Chemistry 1990 62 (13), 701A-701A
DOI: 10.1021/ac00212a716. - Bertholf, R. (2016). Laboratory Structure and Function. Clinical Core Laboratory Testing, 1-23. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-7794-6_1.
- Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5th Edition | CDC Laboratory Portal | CDC. (2019). Cdc.gov. Recovered September 21, 2019 from www.cdc.gov/labs/BMBL.html..