molecular cloning
Antibiotic selection is not proof of an insert
What selection, marker, satellite and clone mean on an antibiotic plate, and why a colony can grow with no insert, the wrong insert or only a parent vector.
8 October 2026 · 7 min read
Knowledge centre
Methods a laboratory can check.
Guides, method explainers and sourcing notes for research laboratories. Written by the EVRINTH Editorial Team from published methods, with catalogue links for enquiry rather than stock claims.
All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
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520 articles
microbiology
Antibiotic stocks and outdated plates
How to retire antibiotic stocks and agar plates for cloning strains when heat, age or drying would fake a lawn or an empty plate.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
cell culture
Antibiotics in medium hide poor technique
When penicillin-streptomycin in routine medium hides a contaminant, and how to choose whether a research culture should grow with or without it.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
immunoassays
Antibody host species and secondary mismatch
How to match a secondary antibody to the primary host, subclass and label, and what a species mismatch does to the blank well.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
genome editing
Arrayed versus pooled screens
Arrayed screens assign one reagent to each well. Pooled screens track a library by representation, multiplicity of infection and sequencing of enrichment or dropout.
8 October 2026 · 7 min read
cell culture
Authentication and misidentified lines
How to quarantine a new research line, check it against misidentification records, and authenticate it before it shares an incubator.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
laboratory safety
Autoclaves and what sterilisation does not do
Steam sterilisation holds a cleaned load at temperature. It does not wash, remove endotoxin, or prove sterility because the tape changed colour.
8 October 2026 · 11 min read
buffers and water
Autoclaving a buffer can shift pH
Autoclave a buffer only when the composition allows it, then recheck pH at the recipe temperature, because Tris, sugars, and bicarbonate do not come back unchanged.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
microbiology
Autoclaving media and antibiotic timing
An autoclave is pressurised steam, and heat-labile antibiotics go in only after the medium has cooled. This glossary separates those steps from a warm oven.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
cold chain
Avoiding frost on a rack you opened too long
Choose the rack from the map before you open the door. Warm moist air ices the front boxes, and the decision is to close.
8 October 2026 · 9 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
molecular cloning
Avoiding mutations during PCR cloning
Why a PCR insert can be the right length and still carry mutations, and how enzyme class, fewer cycles, extra colonies and a full sequence limit the damage.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read