2. Microbiology
An article published this past summer in the July issue of Analytical Chemistry…
“…demonstrates that the gas-filled compartments in the packing material commonly called “bubble wrap” can be repurposed in resource-limited regions as containers to store liquid samples, and to perform bioanalyses. The bubbles of bubble wrap are easily filled by injecting the samples into them using a syringe with a needle or a pipet tip, and then sealing the hole with nail hardener. The bubbles are transparent in the visible range of the spectrum, and can be used as “cuvettes” for absorbance and fluorescence measurements. The interiors of these bubbles are sterile and allow storage of samples without the need for expensive sterilization equipment. The bubbles are also permeable to gases, and can be used to culture and store micro-organisms.”
Adaptive Use of Bubble Wrap for Storing Liquid Samples and Performing Analytical Assays
Analytical Chemistry, July, 2014
Similar to “off-label use” of pharmaceuticals, this “adaptive use” of bubble wrap is clearly not what the manufacturers originally had in mind. According to an NPR article, the idea started with George M. Whitesides, who heads his own Harvard-based research group.
Scientists at Harvard University have figured out a way to use these petite pouches as an inexpensive alternate to glass test tubes and culture dishes. They even ran glucose tests on artificial urine and anemia tests on blood, all with the samples sitting inside bubble wrap…
Whitesides is a master at converting cheap, everyday materials into lab equipment. He’s made a centrifuge from an egg beater and CD player. And he’s designed a glucose detector from paper and tape.
While visiting scientists around the world, Whitesides noticed that many labs in developing countries don’t even have simple pieces of equipment, such as test tubes for running blood tests, storing urine samples or growing microbes.
That’s when the idea popped into his head: bubble wrap. The packaging material is readily available all over the globe, and scientists often have it around the lab because other equipment is shipped in it.