Optimizing Functionality Within Your Lab Space
Introduction
Laboratory design has the potential to impact both safety and productivity. Laboratory workers may use complex equipment or potentially hazardous materials, and the placement and arrangement of these things within the workspace must be considered to ensure the lab's functionality. When the functionality of a lab is optimized, those who utilize the space can complete their work both safely and efficiently.
During my previous experiences working in biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals, I was able to see firsthand how critical the design of a lab space can be. Lab spaces were designed with safety and workflow in mind. Equipment pieces were placed in correlation with the flow of the tasks they were needed for. Areas for working with chemicals and other potentially hazardous materials were separated from areas used for normal processes. These ideas and practices were all implemented during the process of designing and equipping the labs within BioTC.
Designing the Biomanufacturing Training Center
When designing the training center, the needs of the training operation were assessed and used to envision a space that would be optimal for both the instructors and students.
BioTC Floor Plan
The training center is divided into upstream, downstream, and analytical laboratories, akin to the typical arrangement of lab spaces within a CDMO. The upstream and downstream laboratories were designed with a large, open floorplan. They are separated by a collapsible wall. This allows the space to be used to hold equipment demonstrations and symposiums.
My colleagues and I set out to equip the laboratories with as much state-of-the-art equipment as we could fit in them. Since we did not want the lab spaces to feel crowded, we considered the sizes of the equipment pieces we were looking to purchase when meeting with equipment vendors. If possible, we elected to purchase smaller pieces of equipment that would fulfill our needs without taking up too much space. Multiple vendors offered smaller yet capable models or stackable equipment which will enable us to maximize our available bench space. In some instances, we found that newer iterations of equipment we sought out were much smaller than their predecessors. This was the case with the LC-MS and UHPLC systems we decided to purchase. Some of our larger pieces of equipment that will not be used daily such as PCR cabinets and visual inspection hoods will be placed on carts and stored outside of the laboratories until they are needed. By considering the size of our labs and how we wanted to coordinate operations within them, we were able to source equipment that would allow us to get the most out of the space we had.
About the Author
Charles Burton was born and raised in Oklahoma City. He has a love for science and has been working in the biotech industry for the past seven years. Shortly after graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he began work at Immuno-Mycologics Inc. in Norman. There, he developed commercially available test kits used to diagnose fungal diseases such as cryptococcosis and coccidioidomycosis. He then transitioned to working in analytical development for Cytovance Biologics. They developed and optimized methods for analyzing biopharmaceutical products at various stages of development. Charles is very excited to for the opportunity to pass his skills and knowledge on to others.
His favorite tool to use at work is high-performance liquid chromatography systems.
