Scientific Lab Equipment List and Uses: From School Labs to Research Labs
This scientific lab equipment list groups the common items by the job they do. For each one it gives a plain use and the kind of lab where it usually belongs. Use it to check a lab plan, write a spec, or explain a request to a budget holder. School buyers who want a shorter, priority list can go to our guide on what a high school science lab needs.
Every school and college should keep its own lab equipment list, matched to its syllabus, as the base for each year's order.
Who Uses This Equipment
- Schools and colleges run teaching practicals in physics, chemistry and biology.
- Research institutes work in chemistry, biology, environmental science and materials science.
- Industrial labs run product tests and quality control.
- Healthcare labs handle diagnostic tests, medical research and training.
A scientific lab equipment list for a school looks very different from one for a research lab, and the same name can mean very different instruments in each setting. A school centrifuge and a research ultracentrifuge share a principle, not a price or a spec.
The Scientific Lab Equipment List by Group
Microscopes
| Equipment | Use | Usual level |
|---|---|---|
| Compound microscope | Views cells and thin sections at high power | School and up |
| Stereo or dissecting microscope | Gives a 3D view of whole insects, leaves and dissections | School and up |
| Electron microscope | Shows detail far below the limit of light | Research only |
Glassware
| Equipment | Use | Usual level |
|---|---|---|
| Beakers | Hold, mix and heat liquids | All labs |
| Flasks (conical, Florence, round bottom) | Swirl, heat and boil liquids, and hold reactions | All labs |
| Test tubes | Run small reactions and tests | All labs |
| Graduated cylinders | Measure liquid volume | All labs |
| Pipettes | Move an exact volume of liquid | All labs |
| Burette | Adds liquid drop by drop in a titration | School and up |
Heating and cooling equipment
| Equipment | Use | Usual level |
|---|---|---|
| Bunsen burner | Gives an open gas flame for heating | School and up |
| Hot plate | Heats without a flame, often with a stirrer | All labs |
| Heating mantle | Heats round bottom flasks evenly | College and up |
| Ovens | Dry glassware and samples | College and up |
| Incubator | Holds cultures at a set temperature | School and up |
| Lab refrigerators and freezers | Store samples and reagents cold | College and up |
Measuring instruments
| Equipment | Use | Usual level |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical balance | Weighs to a fraction of a milligram | College and up |
| Precision balances | Weigh larger loads to a lower resolution | School and up |
| pH meter | Reads how acid or basic a solution is | School and up |
| Conductivity meter | Reads how well a solution carries current | College and up |
| Thermometer and digital thermometer | Read temperature | All labs |
| Data loggers | Record readings over time | School and up |
Analytical instruments
| Equipment | Use | Usual level |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrophotometer | Measures how much light a sample absorbs, to find its concentration | College and up |
| Chromatography (GC, HPLC) | Splits a mixture into its parts and measures them | Research and industry |
| Mass spectrometer | Identifies molecules by their mass | Research only |
| NMR spectrometer | Maps the structure of molecules | Research only |
Centrifuges
A centrifuge spins samples so heavier parts settle out. A microcentrifuge takes small tubes and suits teaching and routine work. High-speed centrifuges and ultracentrifuges are research tools.
Molecular biology equipment
Gel electrophoresis sorts DNA or proteins by size. It needs a tank, a gel caster and a power supply. A PCR machine, also called a thermal cycler, copies a stretch of DNA. A microplate reader reads many small samples at once. These suit college and research labs, though some schools now run simple gel work.
Safety and sterilization
- Safety goggles, lab coats and gloves for every user.
- Fire extinguisher and an emergency eyewash or shower.
- Fume hood to take chemical fumes away from the user.
- Autoclave for sterilization of media and tools with steam under pressure.
- Safety cabinets for storing hazardous materials.
Support equipment
Many labs also need a water purification system and stirrers and mixers, plus consumables such as pH buffer solutions for meter calibration. Histology labs add a microtome to cut thin tissue sections. Busy analytical labs may add an autosampler.
Biology Lab Equipment List and Uses
Biology is where students most enjoy hands-on work. A school or college biology lab usually draws on this shorter list:
- Compound microscopes and a dissecting microscope
- Glass slides, cover slips and petri dishes
- Pipettes, test tubes and microcentrifuge tubes
- A dissection kit per group, and an inoculation loop for microbiology
- An incubator and an autoclave for culture work
- Balances, a pH meter and a digital thermometer
- A centrifuge, a spectrophotometer and, at college level, gel electrophoresis and a PCR machine
- A microtome where tissue sections are cut on site
How to Use a Scientific Lab Equipment List When Buying
Treat the list as a menu, not a shopping list. Start with the practicals or tests the lab must run. Pick the items those need, then set a quantity per student group or per analyst. For each instrument, write down the range, resolution, power supply and any standard it must meet. Glass that will be heated should be borosilicate 3.3, as set out in ISO 3585.
Where to Find These Items
LabExports manufactures and exports lab equipment from India, with 3,365 products in 297 categories online. Start with our microscopes, laboratory glassware, balances, spectrophotometers, centrifuges and electrophoresis units. Prices are on request for your quantity, spec and destination. Send your equipment list with quantities and the delivery country to get a quote.