Tag

specification

Articles tagged specification. Tags group methods across clusters so a technique can be found from more than one route.

cold chain biosafety crispr specification sequencing proteomics enquiry glossary troubleshooting cloning microbiology buffers freezers pipetting calibration elisa cell culture glassware

19 articles

Modern research laboratory at dusk with researchers at benches and a city skyline through large windows

research sourcing

A checklist before you press send

Walk one finished enquiry through aim, specification, documents, temperature, acceptance, and scope, then place it on the quotation page.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Rack of flow cytometry tubes in front of a researcher viewing coloured scatter plots beside a cytometer

cytometry and microscopy

A glossary of optical measurements

Which optical measurements a microscope or cytometer specification should name so a later user can repeat the light path.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

research sourcing

A glossary of sourcing terms

Compare a specification with a datasheet, a quotation with a proforma, and an acceptance test with a brochure claim before you send an enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 11 min read

research sourcing

Avoiding invented catalogue codes

Treat a catalogue code as an identity only when it appears on a document you can open, and order from a written specification otherwise.

8 October 2026 · 10 min read

Pillar · research sourcing

How to write a laboratory sourcing enquiry

Write a laboratory enquiry as measurable performance, documents and an acceptance check, so a quotation can be compared with the scientific need.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Gloved hand placing a vial into the autosampler of a modular HPLC system with solvent bottles on top

chromatography

Questions before a column enquiry

Write a column enquiry that names chemistry, particle size, dimensions, pressure rating, pH window, matrix, and analytical or prep goal.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Glass beakers and graduated cylinders holding blue and clear liquids on a dark lab bench

labware

Questions before a glassware enquiry

Which glass type, class, volume, joint size, cap thread and autoclave requirement to write down before a laboratory glassware enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Close-up of a micropipette tip releasing a droplet into a microcentrifuge tube held in a gloved hand

liquid handling

Questions before a pipette enquiry

List volume range, displacement type, channels, tip family, calibration documents, and chemical exposures before you send a pipette enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Questions before a water-system enquiry

Write a water-system enquiry that names the feed, the daily volume, the contaminant that matters, pretreatment, sanitisation, and the documents the laboratory will check.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Gloved hand sliding a yellow-developed ELISA plate into a microplate reader drawer

immunoassays

Questions before an antibody enquiry

Target, species, application, immunogen, host, conjugate and storage on arrival. Each question stops a different wrong reagent from being quoted.

8 October 2026 · 10 min read

cytometry and microscopy

Questions before an instrument enquiry

Which lasers, detectors, filters, formats and sample constraints to answer before you ask for a cytometer or microscope quotation.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Gloved fingers placing a silica spin column into a collection tube beside a tube rack and pipette tips

nucleic acid purification

Questions for a nucleic acid prep enquiry

Ask sample type, DNA or RNA, the downstream method, inhibitor risk, throughput and documentation before you send a nucleic acid prep enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read