Toward Reduced Laboratory Glassware Breakage Glass syringes are commonly used in undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories for sample injection into gas chromatographs (gc), infrared (ir) spectrophotometer solution cells, and many additional applications. Their frequent breakage and high replacement cost is ordinarily accepted as an unavoidable expense. T o some extent, use of syringes with replaceable needles or interchangeable glass plungers can somewhat extend useful syringe life, but we have found that syringes most commonly meet a very final demise simply by being dropped, leaving the glass barrel shattered. The lack of easy visibility of small glass syringes on some bench tops aggravates this. By putting small split lengths of heavy-walled pressure tubing a t the extreme ends of the glass barrel, considerable protection is provided in case the syringe is dropped, since the rubber tubing will act as an effective shock absorber. A piece of tubing forced over theend of aglassplunger can offer some similar protection. Extending syringe life in this way may permit justifying the use of more delicate, smaller-volume, more accurate syringes when small sample volumes are required (as for gc). Analogous use of rubber "bumpers" on metal sample cell holders for ir use can reduce chances of cracking salt plates and solution cells if the assembly is dropped. Some protection is offered even for thermometers with this method. Robert Rothchild J o h n Jay College of Criminal Justice of CUNY 445 West 59th Street. New York, NY 10019
Volume 57, Number 4, April 1980 1 315
