Review of: EDVOTEK - The Biotechnology Education Company (http://www.edvotek.com).
EDVOTEK is a science equipment and supplies vendor specializing in biotechnology materials for middle school, high school and undergraduate college students. It offers a variety of ready-to-use lab experiments in several categories: DNA electrophoresis; Advanced DNA applications; PCR; Introduction to RNA; Genetic Engineering and Transformation; Immunology; Medical Diagnostics, Plants; Immunology; Environmental Monitoring and Protection; and Proteins, Enzymes and Chromatography. Some of the labs at the 100/200 level are simulations, using Ready-to-Load DNA samples provided with the kit, for example; however, most labs at the 200/300 level use authentic lab protocols and materials.
EDVOTEK offers a full line of the equipment needed to perform all of these investigations and reagents that can be used to order refills for those specific items. Instructors can use the kits as prepared, or use the variety of reagents available to expand and design their own versions of these labs. The equipment is reliable, durable and very reasonably priced. The company offers a lifetime warranty on its electrophoresis hardware and micropipettes. Everything else is repaired for cost.
The lab kits are also competitively priced, contain enough materials for ten lab groups and, best of all, are easy to use and work almost flawlessly. Each kit comes with a well-organized teacher and student guide that you can also download from the website as a PDF file. All preparations required by the teacher are clearly outlined, including the time frame required to accomplish each part of the preparation and the actual lab itself. The reagents are clearly labeled, including those that require refrigeration or freezing, and most solutions are already prepared in advance or merely require a simple dilution. EDVOTEK provides unparalleled technical support and assistance by e-mail and by phone.
One of the most basic and popular labs for high school and college students involves bacterial transformation. EDVOTEK offers several versions of this lab, but the two most frequently-used kits in my experience are Kit 221, Transformation of E. coli with pGAL, and Kit 222, Transformation with Blue and Green Fluorescent Proteins (Note: Kit 223 involves GFP only). Both kits now come with lyophilized bacterial cells, which make handling much easier. Both kits require water baths at two different temperatures, which could be problematic for some schools. Each kit offers its own advantages and disadvantages; the instructor will have to decide which is most suitable for his or her course.
In Kit 221, students transform E. coli with EDVOTEK’s proprietary pGAL plasmid, which contains genes for ampicillin resistance and B-galactosidase. Bacteria are grown in the presence of both ampicillin and X-Gal, an artificial galactoside. Transformed bacteria are able to grow in the presence of ampicillin, and also turn strikingly blue as the X-Gal is cleaved by the B-galactosidase. This lab is easy to run and does not require UV illumination. One downside of this protocol is that it is missing the opportunity to include a discussion of gene regulation.
The BFP and GFP kits (222, 223) capitalize on the fact that fluorescent proteins are so extensively used in all areas of biological research. Transformation efficiency is also easily calculated. These kits do incorporate the concept of gene regulation, using a small molecule, IPTG, as an inducer; however, instructors might want to consider modifying the protocol slightly, as control plates that do not contain IPTG are not used. Students have the option of using the pFluoroGreen, pFluoroBlue, or both plasmids in their transformation. Long wavelength UV lamps are required to visualize the transformed bacteria, which glow strikingly in a darkened room. Another advantage of using the BFP/GFP kit is that it can be combined with Kit 255, Purification and Size Determination of Blue and Green Fluorescent Proteins, with the option of separating the proteins by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. This provides a comprehensive look at several molecular biology techniques, and can be crafted by the teacher into a single, larger activity.
EDVOTEK’s stated philosophy includes such principles as: experiments should always work; preparation should always be easy; science shouldn’t be expensive. From my twenty-plus years of experience with EDVOTEK, as well as other biotechnology companies, I would have to say that EDVOTEK is true to its mission!