Written by Arish Mudra Rakshasa (Sept 2017) Earlham College, Richmond, IN, USA
Table of Contents
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🔥 Fresh odours should be mixed every day an experiment is performed. Odours from the previous day are not recommended for use. It's probably ok after a day, but we study olfaction so we might as well make sure our olfactory stimuli are TOP.
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Preparation
Wear clean gloves and a lab coat, and leave all personal items outside the lab. Gather the following materials:
- Clean vials and caps (as many as there are odours to be mixed).
- P20, P200, and P1000 micropipettes.
- P20, P200, and P1000 micropipette filter tips.
- Clean 100 mL graduated cylinder.
- Mineral oil (open new and label with date, if needed).
- Required odourants (found in the flammables cabinet in SH 161).
- Mixture amount reference sheet (Talk to Michelle Tong)
- Typical odourants: (+)-limonene (Cat no: 183164 Sigma-Aldrich) and (-)-limonene (Cat no: 218367 Sigma-Aldrich)
Procedure
Mineral oil
- Transfer 50 mL of mineral oil into a graduated cylinder. Precautions: mineral oil is viscous, so pour along the sides of the cylinder to avoid air bubbles. Pour slowly to avoid overshooting, because it takes a little bit for it to settle. Observe the lower meniscus at eye level to get an accurate measurement.
- Label a clean vial “MO” along with your initials and the date using tape.