Replacing the Osterizer as standard lab equipment

By Kate Rix

Lina Nilsson, Tekla Labs founder. KAP STANN PHOTO

Imagine a research laboratory relying on little more than old phonographs and kitchen blenders. This is what Lina Nilsson, a post-doctoral researcher in the bioengineering lab of professor Daniel Fletcher, saw in Bolivian labs, inspiring her to develop alternatives to expensive laboratory equipment.

After a year in Asia and South America visiting labs that lacked the basics, Nilsson and a team of engineering colleagues brainstormed about how to develop low-cost, accessible tools that could produce research-grade results. They created protocols for making do-it-yourself laboratory equipment, along with detailed how-to blueprints available for free online.

The team evolved into Tekla Labs, a cooperative of ten partners from Berkeley Engineering and UCSF. Their idea won first place for social entrepreneurship in the 2010-11 Big Ideas @ Berkeley contest.

A lot of basic equipment is really expensive, but it doesnt have to be, says Nilsson. She adds that while many charitable organizations make contributions to labs in developing countries, most donated equipment consists of larger and more costly machines.

A sample rotator designed and built by Berkeley student Anthony Fernando for Tekla Labs. LINA NILSSON PHOTO

Each semester, Tekla Labs researchers help individual students build equipment. They also team up with Engineering World Health on a DeCal (student-run) course that tasks undergraduate students with designing inexpensive product prototypes. In one case, a student was sent to Radio Shack for supplies to build a magnetic stirrer; she returned with a light-switch circuit box, which ended up serving quite nicely as housing for the stirrer.

Where the outlet would have plugged in we placed the speed dial, Nilsson says. The core requirement is that the parts must be cheap and easy to find. My lab has four magnetic stirrers and they cost $250 and up. We built one for $30 that runs off a battery.

Original post:
Turning kitchen gadgets (and more) into low-cost lab equipment