Iranian Student Finds Way for Mechanical Washing of Test Tubes

“This invention has changed the process of washing test tubes from manual to mechanical and robotic,” Majid Khayyatnejad, a PhD student of Islamic Azad University’s Ardabil branch, who has succeeded in patenting a fully automatic disinfection and sterilization device for laboratory equipment, told ANA.

“Problems like high water consumption and the possibility of disease spreading from contaminated containers to the operator and low precision in washing have been resolved in this method,” he added.

“In this invention, we used a combination of a new washing and Four machines. In this device, the pipes are placed in drawer-like tanks and all the steps of dewatering and soaking are done inside the device for the first time, then they are taken to the washing unit where they are washed by a brush and finally sent to the unit for dewatering by a linear motor,” Khayyatnejad said.

Nearly 2,500 laboratories across Iran are members of the strategic technologies laboratory network of the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, an expert said in September.

“The laboratory network was established in 2004 under the supervision of the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council upon an order by the then vice-president for science and technology,” Mohammad Zomorrodi, an expert of the laboratory network of strategic technologies of Iran, told ANA.

Noting that Iranian researchers were facing many problems to find the equipment they needed in the province where they worked or studied before the establishment of the network, he said, “Not all universities can have FESEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), so the laboratory network has made it possible to search for the needed equipment and possibilities.”

“At present, nearly 2,500 laboratories across the country are members of this network. Of this amount, 1,800 laboratory centers are definite members of this network,” Zomorrodi said.

An Iranian official had earlier announced plans to establish an integrated national laboratory network in the country.

4155/v