Helping to plan a lab work schedule

Explanation

Planning your lab work has various demands. Not only do you need to be in the right place at the right time, you also need to use your time as efficiently as possible.

Example Prompt

"Hello! I am a third-year student studying a BSc in Biology at a UK university. My project is assessing the efficacy of bacteriophages as a form of treatment for MRSA biofilms in UK hospitals. My main goal is to assess the same concentration of bacteriophages over different time periods (measuring biofilm levels at 3 hour, 6 hour, 9 hour, 12 hour, and 16 hour intervals). I plan to test this on five separate occasions over five days. Would you be able to devise me a schedule for those five days (including lab prep, standard safety procedures, and any cleaning)? Thank you!"

AI response  

Thanks for giving me such a clear description of your project — that’s really helpful. Here’s a structured 5-day lab schedule that covers your bacteriophage–MRSA biofilm testing, includes prep and safety, and builds in time for cleaning. I’ll keep things general so you can adapt to your lab’s specific protocols and supervisor’s requirements.

General Notes Before Starting

• Daily Prep: Always start with ~1 hour for lab set-up (checking reagents, calibrating equipment, preparing culture plates, donning PPE).
• Safety: Follow university biosafety protocols strictly (e.g., Category 2 handling for MRSA). Ensure waste disposal is according to local guidelines.
• Cleaning: Reserve 30–45 minutes at the end of each day for sterilisation and logging results.
• Replication: Since you’re repeating the experiment 5 times, keeping the schedule consistent will help with reliability.

Example Daily Schedule

Day 1–5 (repeat each day for consistency):

09:00–10:00 | Lab Prep & Safety

• Put on PPE, disinfect bench, prepare culture plates/biofilm samples.
• Prepare bacteriophage solutions at the required concentration.
• Log start-of-day checklist.

10:00–10:30 | Inoculation

• Apply bacteriophage solution to MRSA biofilms.
• Start timing for 3h/6h/9h/12h/18h intervals.

10:30–13:00 | Monitoring / Short Task Period

• Use this time for literature review, note-writing, or prepping future materials (stay nearby in case you need to check cultures).

13:00–13:30 | 3h Measurement

• Take samples/measure biofilm levels.
• Record results immediately.

13:30–16:00 | Monitoring / Other Work

• Keep workspace tidy, prepare notes.

16:00–16:30 | 6h Measurement

• Record data carefully.

16:30–19:00 | Monitoring / Other Work

19:00–19:30 | 9h Measurement

• Record data.

19:30–22:00 | Monitoring / Breaks

22:00–22:30 | 12h Measurement

• Record data.

Overnight (04:00) | 18h Measurement

• Either:
  • (a) Schedule staff/lab technician cover (if available), or
  • (b) Adjust experimental design to avoid unsafe overnight lab work (e.g., staggered start so the 18h falls within daytime hours).

22:30–23:15 | Cleaning & Close Down

• Sterilise workspace and materials, dispose of biohazard waste properly, update lab book with all observations.

Key Considerations

• 18-hour interval: Running this measurement safely is tricky if you’re working alone — check with your supervisor whether overnight sampling is feasible or if you should shift your start times so that your longest interval fits within staffed hours.
• Consistency: Repeat the same timing protocol each day for reliable replication.
• Documentation: Keep detailed lab notes (time-stamped, signed off each day).