5 Ideas To Make Your Grant Go Further
If you’re feeling the financial pinch, you may wonder how you’re going to get the results you need to get your paper written. Obviously, not all ideas may be feasible in your lab- it’s important that you don’t compromise your results for a few pennies here and there, but maybe some of these changes could help save…
1) Reduce your cost per test with sensitive reagents.
Primary antibodies are often the most expensive part of an experiment, but a sensitive detection system may allow you to dilute your primary antibody further with the same results. Although the detection may look more expensive, it might reduce your cost per test. A 2-4 fold increase in sensitivity may not sound much, but quickly halves or quarters the cost of the primary per test!
As an example, this spreadsheet calculator demonstrates potential cost per test savings between two kits of similar technology but differing sensitivity. Click the button below to start your download.
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- Cost Per Test Calculator
2) Take advantage of free shipping
Check with your supplier if they offer free shipping. Suppliers may have a threshold spend over which shipping charges are removed. This may not hold for dry ice, but consolidating shipments can help. Allow a little longer for reagents to arrive for consolidated orders, but at 2BScientific the average wait for orders is only 7 days.
3) Can you reduce the amount of reagent you need?
Keep a section covered by using an ImmEDGE pen to keep reagents in place on the slide. These hydrophobic barrier pens help keep reagents over your samples so you’re not using reagent on blank areas of the slide, or losing reagents running off the edges. Ensure sections stay moist to avoid drying artefacts, and do check to ensure variations in volume do not affect results.
4) Look out for offers
A number of suppliers will offer discounts or bundle prices on items that might go together, so keep a look out for new offers on our Offers page. Don’t be shy to ask what the current expiry date of reagents are, so you can stock up with confidence.
5) Enlist your account manager!
If you’re short on time as well, why not ask your account manager to see if they can suggest alternatives for you. It’s always worth asking if they can make an offer for you, especially if you’re ordering a number of items.