Part 1: Introduction and Safety - Mon, Jun 10, 2024
What is the Lab Compendium?
The Lab Compendium is a set of organic synthesis tips that I have compiled after working in various synthetic groups over the years. Originally these were kept in a crappy Google Document, but I figured that it may be helpful for other people just starting out in organic synthesis, so I’ve decided to put it onto my blog. Currently there is a lack of pictures – I will hopefully slowly add them in when I am not lazy. This is not an exhaustive guide and will be updated from time to time, but hopefully it is useful!
This guide would not be possible if not for the many wonderful mentors I’ve had; thank you for guiding me in my Synthetic Chemistry journey.
Safety
I’m going to start off with safety as this is the ultimate most important thing when working in a lab. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list and some of these may seem very obvious, but are still highly crucial.
- Always, always, ALWAYS, wear your PPE when you are in the lab. This includes your lab coat and gloves, but most importantly your safety glasses. Freak accidents can still happen even if you are meticulous and very careful. I’ve once had an automatic column depressurize and spray DCM into my face when the product suddenly crashed out into the connector; luckily my safety glasses were there to take the brunt of it.
- Do NOT work in the lab if you are sleepy. You will make mistakes that can endanger yourself, as well as the people around you.
- Do NOT EVER resheathe needles. Needle stick injuries are the most common type of injuries in undergraduate Chemistry labs and most of the time they are due to someone resheathing a used needle. Getting stabbed by a contaminated needle can have some very serious consequences; see here.
Other Resources
There are many other excellent synthetic guides out there (with better pictures!), as well as proper synthetic Chemistry textbooks, but here are some ones that I enjoy:
- Chemistry Libretexts – they have some great pictures of actual experimental setups.
- University of Rochester’s NotVoodoo – full of excellent guides, highly, highly recommended. Also, the Rookie Mistakes section is amazing and actually the funniest shit ever.
- The Schlenk Line Survival Guide – if you have never used a Schlenk line before, this is for you! It comes with wonderful diagrams and step by step guides to classic Schlenk line maneuvers.