Bioactive Contaminants Leach from Disposable Laboratory Plasticware

Disposable plasticware such as test tubes, pipette tips, and multiwell assay or culture plates are used routinely in most biological research laboratories. Manufacturing of plastics requires the inclusion of numerous chemicals to enhance stability, durability, and performance. Some lubricating (slip...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2008-11, Vol.322 (5903), p.917-917
Main Authors: McDonald, G. Reid, Hudson, Alan L, Dunn, Susan M.J, You, Haitao, Baker, Glen B, Whittal, Randy M, Martin, Jonathan W, Jha, Amitabh, Edmondson, Dale E, Holt, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Brevia
Contaminants
Contamination
Dimethyl Sulfoxide
Disinfectants - analysis
Disinfectants - pharmacology
Disposable Equipment
General aspects. Methods
Humans
Laboratories
Medical sciences
Monoamine Oxidase - metabolism
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors - pharmacology
Oleic Acids - analysis
Oleic Acids - pharmacology
Plastics
Plastics - chemistry
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - analysis
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - pharmacology
Rats
Receptors
Research methodology
Scientific apparatus & instruments
Solvents
Toxicology
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Summary:Disposable plasticware such as test tubes, pipette tips, and multiwell assay or culture plates are used routinely in most biological research laboratories. Manufacturing of plastics requires the inclusion of numerous chemicals to enhance stability, durability, and performance. Some lubricating (slip) agents, exemplified by oleamide, also occur endogenously in humans and are biologically active, and cationic biocides are included to prevent bacterial colonization of the plastic surface. We demonstrate that these manufacturing agents leach from laboratory plasticware into a standard aqueous buffer, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methanol and can have profound effects on proteins and thus on results from bioassays of protein function. These findings have far-reaching implications for the use of disposable plasticware in biological research.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1162395