Hi Reader, today we will talk about special opportunities that very few scientists know about...
Yet everyone can put them into practice to reduce the footprint of labs while enhancing sample safety.
This article comes courtesy of Neumaier Logistics Group, a company I discovered by pure serendipity at a lab-tech conference.
It took some time before they allowed me to prepare this piece, offering some behind-the-scenes insights with their sponsorship.
But now I am finally able to report on their innovative services:
Today's Lesson: Sample Safety and Transport
How we can protect the environment and our work
Number Of The Day
Based on a study by Gumpas et al., we can estimate that ice buildup in freezers can lead to an additional 200 kWh of energy consumption every month. That can be worth a month of running the freezer. However, this ice also puts your samples at risk as it allows for unwanted air exchange. However, many research groups do not have backup freezers to store their samples while defrosting their main units - and this is where Neumaier can help:
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Greener Sample Storage & Movements
Imagine someone helped keep your freezers healthy and even supports you in keeping your samples organized.
They even help you move instruments or your entire lab more sustainably. Let’s see how they can help you reduce your footprint:
Rent A Freezer – Yes You Hear Correctly
Sample storage is a surprisingly carbon-intensive process.
Taken together, laboratories around the world consume more energy for their sample storage than it takes to power an entire city.
The most noteworthy point is that –70/–80 °C freezers are not only among the most energy-intensive instruments, comparable to HPLC, MS, or GC, but they are also the most numerous pieces of equipment in every lab I’ve seen. Even when a group has two or three HPLCs, they typically have four or five freezers.
And the process is high stakes - if you ever witnessed a freezer failure you know it - your samples are gone. Years of work can disappear overnight.
Neumaier helps to prevent that from happening: Defrosting and cleaning your freezer is a simple step but can save up to ten percent of energy use and at the same time reduce the risk of freezer failure.
Old freezers often fail because of compressor overload, which is largely caused by ice and dust buildup that forces the compressor to work harder.
However, most labs don’t have backup freezers to store their samples when defrosting.
The key point is that you can safely defrost your freezer while keeping your samples at –70 °C in another unit nearby. Simply transfer your boxes or drawers into a different freezer, ensuring sample safety and saving significant time.
Neumaier addresses this problem by offering rentable freezers so that you can safely defrost yours without risking your samples. I was so intrigued because they come with a special truck to keep the freezer conveniently right at your door.
Making More Space in Your Freezer
A study by Farley and colleagues showed that leaving a freezer door open for just sixty seconds can raise the internal temperature by almost five degrees Celsius.
Farley and colleagues showed that opening a freezer door for just one minute can cause the internal temperature to rise by more than 3 °C. As expected, this effect is less pronounced in freezers set to –70 °C.
Most freezers I have seen are completely stuffed. We often keep samples just in case, for example stem cells, cell lines, or documentation samples.
Neumaier told me that they provide storage solutions ranging from a single rack submitted by a PhD student to entire collections from pharma companies - storing from 8°C down to –196°C for you.
Moreover, all storage is monitored around the clock and kept under GLP-compliant conditions, which means that your samples are stored under the same safeguards as regulated clinical samples.
Neumaier Logistics is ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certified - standards that demonstrate compliance with internationally recognized environmental management (ISO 14001) and quality management (ISO 9001) systems. In addition, they hold an EGNATON certification, awarded by an independent body that evaluates laboratory spaces and services. In essence, these certificates mean that Neumaier has shown that they are able to ensure the safety and integrity of samples based on strict regulatory requirements.
Even if you suddenly need your samples back, Neumaier can ship them quickly and safely.
That means you declutter your freezer and make sure your samples are safe – but talking about shipping let’s dive into the third service that intrigued me due to its sustainability:
Moving Greener
They actually started in 1990 as a shipping provider, going to specialize in laboratory moves.
Over time, they optimized their processes to become more sustainable. How so?
For example, they avoid dry ice by transporting –70°C ultra-low temperature freezers fully powered in specialized trucks. The same trucks they use to provide their rented freezers.
And please note, this method ensures that samples remain safe during the move, while also preventing the confusion or loss of samples that can easily occur when relocating a laboratory.
Additionally, they reduce waste by using reusable containers instead of plastic wrapping.
Notably, beyond reducing single-use packaging, Neumaier also enables the transfer of HPLCs and, as partially demonstrated here, even entire NMR instruments - ensuring a hassle-free process with minimal downtime.
They can, for example, move an HPLC in one piece without the need to reinstall valves or tubing. This not only reduces downtime but also prevents the unnecessary waste of reagents that can happen during setup errors.
Applying The Knowledge
To enable defrosting, Neumaier can bring a rental freezer directly to your door. You must let your institute know about that!
Also, if you have rather old freezers that are more likely to suddenly fail, they can provide emergency support and replacement.
Then, go through your freezer – if you have samples that you won't use for months or years, let Neumaier store them because it makes sure your freezer is not crowded and samples are protected.
Interestingly, the picture on the left comes from an Eppendorf white paper on freezer failures. As the imageon the right illustrates, outsourcing the storage of rarely used samples makes it much easier to keep your inventory organized - not to mention it encourages your lab to carefully evaluate which samples have to be kept after all.
Moreover, it means you don’t have to search for hours if you need them as they have a clear inventory.
And the transport is safe – they told me about a special case:
They were moving samples from water-cooled freezers using a custom converted lab-equipment tray with special wrapping and cooling plates that had been pre-cooled in one of their freezers to ensure temperatures below –70 °C.
And all that while testing in conditions of over 37 °C outside!
Where do they work? Focusing the DACH region, with services in the EU and North America - just drop them an email.
And here is one pragmatic reminder: when your lab moves, use that opportunity to establish new habits. A relocation is the perfect moment to reset workflows and make your lab greener.
Upcoming Lesson:
Greener, Innovative Lab Itmes
How We Feel Today
If you have a wish or a question, feel free to reply to this Email. Otherwise, wish you a beautiful week! See you again on the 2nd : )
Edited by Patrick Penndorf Connection@ReAdvance.com Lutherstraße 159, 07743, Jena, Thuringia, Germany Data Protection & Impressum If you think we do a bad job: Unsubscribe
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