Team:ArtScienceBangalore/DIY
From 2010.igem.org
"Jugaad DIY BioLab"
Jugaad vs. Hack
"Jugaad(a hindi term) is a survival tactic, whereas a hack is an intellectual art form; i.e. Jugaad is the wile of the poor, and hack the pastime of the affluent cerebral. Jugaad is a hack to get around or deal with a lack of or limited resources, and has a class component to it - jugaad are things poor but clever people do to make the most of the resources they have. They do what they need to do, without regard to what is supposed to be possible." -[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad#Jugaad_vs._Hack wikipedia]
During the summer, we decided to question the idea that synthetic biology or biology for that matter could be done only with high-end scientific equipment. We began to construct lab instruments out of cheap, readily available material. We have realized that the barriers for doing science need not be so high.
We've so far built a sterile hood, a centrifuge, a gel-electrophoris box, a water bath, an incubator, microscopes and also a touch-table lab assistant. All instructions to build these instruments are open source and can be downloaded in detail from [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page here]
The 100$ sterile hood
Made with Acrylic and filters from Car purifiers. Complete instructions on how to build one are [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_Sterlisation_Hood here].
The 10$ incubator
Made with a styrofoam box, discarded computer fans and a mosquito coil. Keeps temperature at exactly 37C . Complete instructions on how to build one are [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_Incubator here].
The 20$ microscope
Made with a cheap webcamera. Complete instructions on how to build one are [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_microscopy here].
The C.Elegans image is taken with the webcam
The 20$ centrifuge.
Made with a commercial egg beater with a 17500 rpm motor.Complete instructions on how to build one are [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_handheld_centrifuge here].
10$ Water Bath
Made with a good old bucket and a aquarium heater.Keeps things at 42C. Complete instructions on how to build one [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_Water_Bath here].
The Lab Assistant
The Lab Assistant is a DIY touch screen lab helper, that helps you with lab protocols. Complete instruction on how to build one are [http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/ReacTable here].