Sanitation Foundation, Ann Arbor, MI (10). The cabinet must also be recertified at least annually and/or when it is moved, after filters are replaced, when the exhaust motor is repaired or replaced, and when any gaskets are removed or replaced. Record the date of recertification, the names of the individual and company performing the service, and any recommendations for future service.
Any general-purpose laboratory (non-explosion-proof) or household-type refrigerator-freezer (4 to 6°C) can be used in the parasitology laboratory. Solvents with flash points below refrigeration temperature should not be stored, even in modified (explosion-proof) refrigerators.
Maintenance
1. On a daily basis, monitor and record the temperature of the refrigerator. The thermometer should be placed into a liquid to permit stable temperature recording, or thermocouples may be used.
2. On a daily basis, monitor and record the temperature of the freezer. The thermometer should be placed in antifreeze (any brand with freezing point below that of the freezer, e.g., ethylene-glycol-water solutions, glycerol-water solutions, or Prestone) to permit stable temperature recording. Thermocouples may be used instead.
3. Periodically when the door is opened, check to see if the fan is operational.
4. Monthly, check the door gasket for deterioration, cracks, and proper seal. Seal problems are often seen when ice begins to build up in a freezer or the temperature is not holding. Periodically, petroleum jelly can be rubbed onto the door gasket to lubricate the material and to help maintain flexibility for a tight seal when the door is shut.
5. Semiannually, clean the condenser tubing and air grill with a vacuum cleaner.
6. Semiannually, check to ensure that the drain tubes are kept open.
7. Annually, wash the interior with a warm solution of baking soda and water (approximately 1 tablespoon/qt [ca. 13 to 14 g/0.946 liter]). Rinse with clean water, and dry. Also, wash the door gasket and water collection tray with a mild soap and water. If the gasket accumulates a black mold, scrub with 50% household bleach solution and a small brush. Rinse with clean water, and dry.
Supplies for the diagnostic parasitology laboratory are often identical to those needed for routine work in other areas of microbiology. Although not every size of glassware used is specified, the list below should be helpful for anyone setting up a laboratory for this type of work.
1. Disposable glass or plastic pipettes and bulbs (some sterile for culture work)
2. Pipettes: 1, 5, and 10 ml (some sterile for culture work)
3. Glass slides (1 by 3 in., or larger if preferred). Slides with rounded edges are now available (safety-“sharps”).
4. Coverslips (22 by 22 mm; no. 1 or larger if preferred)
5. Beakers, 250, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 ml
6. Covered Coplin jars or staining dishes (with slide rack)
7. Graduated cylinders, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 ml
8. Mortar and pestle (range of sizes)
9. Flasks, Erlenmeyer, 500 and 1,000 ml
10. Flasks, volumetric, 500 and 1,000 ml
11. Bottles, brown, 150 to 200 ml
12. Bottles, clear, 100, 500, and 1,000 ml
13. Bottles, airtight, 50 ml
14. Funnel (glass) to hold filter paper
15. Büchner funnel
16. Centrifuge tubes, 15 and 50 ml (some with screw caps)
17. Petri dish, plastic, sterile
18. Tubes, screw-cap, 13 by 100 mm or 16 by 125 mm (some sterile for culture work)
19. Plastic syringe, 15 ml
20. Sterile syringes (glass or plastic), 1, 10, 20, and 50 ml
1. Culture tube racks
2. Gauze (woven or pressed)
3. Applicator sticks (wood)
4. Sterile cryovials or screw-cap vials (to hold 1 ml)
5. Box for vial storage in freezer
6. Filter paper, Whatman no. 1 and Whatman no. 42
7. Sterile filtration system
8. Membrane filters (pore size, 0.22 µm) (to be used with sterile filter)
9. Nuclepore membrane filter, 25-mm, 5-µm, and 3-µm porosity
10. Swinney filter adapter (attaches to syringe, holds filter)
11. Filter paper pad, 25 mm (used to support the membrane filter in the Swinney adapter)
12. Bacteriological loop
13. Sterile syringe needles, 20 and 27 gauge
14. Vaspar
15. Parafilm (American Can Co.) or equivalent
16. Slide boxes for positive-slide storage
17. Forceps and scissors
18. Stage micrometer with scale of 0.1- and 0.01-mm divisions
19. Disk micrometer divided into 50 units
20. Biohazard container with disinfectant for proper disposal of slides, tubes, and pipettes
21. Biohazard container for proper disposal of patient specimens
22. Microscope lens paper
ATCC Quality Control Organisms
1. An 18- to 24-h-old culture of Escherichia coli or Enterobacter aerogenes
2. ATCC 30010 (Acanthamoeba castellanii)
3. ATCC 30133 (Naegleria gruberi)
4. ATCC 30925 (Entamoeba histolytica HU-1:CDC)
5. ATCC 30015 (Entamoeba histolytica HK-9)
6. ATCC 30001 (Trichomonas vaginalis)
7. ATCC 30883 (Leishmania mexicana)
8. ATCC 30160 (Trypanosoma cruzi)
Note None, some, or all of these QC organisms will be required, depending on the culture procedures performed in the laboratory.
Safety: Personnel and Physical Facilities
1. Be careful! All material to be received by or discarded from the laboratory must be considered potentially pathogenic.
2. Smoking, eating, or drinking in the laboratory is not permitted.
3. Do not work with uncovered open cuts or broken skin. Cover them with a Band-Aid, finger cot, or other suitable means, such as rubber or plastic gloves.