The Lab

Our community biology lab in Santa Clara

We aim to provide a laboratory and co-working space to enable your projects. On this page we’ll describe what kind of lab space, equipment, and reagents are likely available — but take it as a living snapshot, not a fixed inventory. BioCurious is a community lab, and that means our equipment comes from generous donations, the hands of enthusiastic members, and a lot of creative problem-solving. Things break, things get fixed, and sometimes a piece of equipment is waiting for the right person to bring it back to life. If you’ve ever worked in a real research environment, this will feel familiar — troubleshooting is part of the process, and that spirit is very much at home here. We’re a community that makes things work together.

BioSafety

BioCurious operates strictly at Biosafety Level 1 (BSL1). Every member working on a project — whether personal or community-driven — is required to register that project with our safety board for review before getting started. This keeps our community informed and our lab safe for everyone.

All lab work follows Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards. Basic PPE including gloves, lab coat and safety goggles are provided, and wearing them is expected at all times during lab work. A few ground rules that come with BSL1 work at BioCurious:

  • No eating, drinking, or applying cosmetics in the lab
  • Wash hands before leaving the lab space
  • No mouth pipetting
  • Decontaminate your work surface before and after each session
  • Biohazard waste is disposed of properly — ask a member if you’re unsure
  • All samples and reagents must be clearly labeled
  • No organisms or samples from outside the lab may be brought in without prior safety board approval

Examples for allowed Molecular Biology work:

  • Cloning using E.Coli K12 strains and derivates
  • DNA, RNA extractions
  • …

Examples for not-allowed work:

  • Bacteriophages
  • Drosophila
  • Chemistry work (no fume hood available)
  • Lentiviral transduction of cell lines
  • No work with blood products or blood - derived primary cells (PBMCs)

The Molecular Biology lab

The main lab is the heart of BioCurious — this is where you’ll find most of the equipment, reagents, and bench space to bring your project to life. As a member, the space is yours to use whenever you need it, just be mindful that it’s shared. Take what you need, leave it clean, and make room for the next person.

In practice, there’s usually plenty of space — roughly twice as many benches as people — so it rarely feels crowded. A small number of members contribute a little extra to reserve a dedicated bench, so keep an eye out for “Reserved Bench” signs and respect those spots. Everything else? Fair game — just bring your curiosity and a little consideration for your fellow researchers."


List of Equipment Main Lab

  • Microbiologic Safety Cabinet
  • Thermocyclers: MJ Research, Bio-Rad PTC-100
  • Real-Time PCR Cycler
  • -80˚C Ultra Low Temperature Freezer: Forma
  • HPLC: Waters 2695
  • Spectrophotometer: DeNovix DS-11+
  • RT-PCR: Chai Bio
  • UltraCentrifuge: Beckman TL-100
  • Centrifuge: Beckman J2-21, J2-HS
  • Tabletop centrifuge: Eppendorf 5417R, Heraeus Biofuge, Tomy Refrigerated MTX-150
  • Shaking incubator: Innova 4000
  • Sonicator Disruptor: Omni-Ruptor 250
  • Analytical Balance: Mettler Toledo AB204, Tree HRB103, Mettler Toledo PB3001
  • Autoclave: Tuttnauer Brinkmann 2504E
  • Oven: Quincy Lab
  • Incubator: NuAire
  • Incubator: 96-well plate reader: Tecan Spectrasfluor Plus, ELx808
  • Luminometer: Perkin Elmer Victor X
  • Microscopes
  • Refrigerators and -20 Freezers
  • Gel Electrophoresis equipment

Full Equipment List

The Tissue Culture Lab

BioCurious has a dedicated tissue culture room for mammalian cell culture work at BSL1. The room is kept strictly separate from the main lab — all bacterial work stays out, keeping the environment clean and contamination risks low. Additional PPE and plastic consumables are available in the TC room to support your work. To access the tissue culture room, an add-on subscription is required — head to the sign-up page to add it to your membership. Please note that all work involving human blood products falls under BSL2 and is not permitted at BioCurious. If you’re unsure whether your project qualifies for the TC room, feel free to reach out before getting started.


List of Equipment Tissue Culture Lab

  • NuAire Class II Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC)
  • CO2 Incubators
  • Refrigerators, -20°C Freezer
  • Water bath
  • LN2 Storage
  • Denovix CellDrop FL automatic cell counter
  • Zeiss Inverted microscope
  • Nikon fluorescence microscope
  • Centrifuges
  • Flow Cytometer BD Accuri C6