What is immunology?

Immunology is the study of the immune system and its a very important branch of
the medical and biological sciences.

The immune system protects us from infection through various lines of defense.

If the immune system is not functioning as it should, it can result in disease, such
as autoimmunity, allergy and cancer.

Immunological research continues to extend horizons in our understanding of how

to treat significant health issues, with ongoing research efforts in immunotherapy,
autoimmune diseases, and vaccines for emerging pathogens, such as Ebola.

Advancing our understanding of basic immunology is essential for clinical and

commercial application and has facilitated the discovery of new diagnostics and
treatments to manage a wide range of diseases.

Mainly The Immunology Laboratory laboratories focus on –

 Identifying antibodies. These are proteins made by a type of white blood
cell in response to a foreign substance (antigen) in the body.

 Investigating problems with the immune system. These include when the

body's immune system attacks its own tissues (autoimmune diseases) and
when a body's immune system is underactive (immunodeficiency disorders).

 Determining organ, tissue and fluid compatibility for transplantation

Immunology laboratory is responsible for - laboratory testing and clinical

consultation in several broad areas including the evaluation of autoimmune
disease, immune deficiencies, immune proliferative disorders, and allergy, as well
as having responsibility for some aspects of infectious disease serology.
These tests generally include, tests that are carried out in various laboratories for
the purpose of diagnosing certain infectious diseases.

Immunologic tests employ an antigen to detect presence of antibodies to a

pathogen or an antibody to detect the presence of an antigen, of the pathogen in the
specimens of the victim.

Certain popular immunological tests include –

 Agglutination tests
 Complement fixation
 Enzyme immunoassays
 Precipitation tests
 Western blot tests

Immunology Laboratory Equipment

 Centrifuge – it Is equipment used to separate substances of greater and

lesser density.
Simple centrifuges are used in chemistry, biology, and biochemistry for
isolating and separating suspensions.
They vary widely in speed and capacity.
They usually contains a rotor containing 2,4,6 or many more numbered wells
within which the samples, contained in centrifuge tubes, may be placed.

 Incubator - In biology, an incubator is a device used to grow and maintain

of course microbiological cultures or cell cultures.
The incubator maintains optimal temperature, humidity and other conditions
such as the carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen content of the atmosphere
inside.
Incubators are essential for a lot of experimental work in cell biology,
microbiology and molecular biology and those are used to culture both
bacterial as well as eukaryotic cells.
Most incubators include a timer - some can also be programmed to cycle
through different temperatures, humidity levels, etc.
 Incubators can vary in size from tabletop to units the size of small rooms.

 Spectrophotometer - This Is a photometer (Photometer is a devise for

measuring light intensity) this can measure intensity as a function of the
color or more specifically, the wavelength of the light.

 Micro plate reader

these are laboratory instruments designed to detect biological, chemical or
physical events of samples in microtiter plate.
Sample reactions can be inspected in well format microtiter plates.
The most common microplate format used in academic research laboratories
or clinical diagnostic laboratories is 96-well.

 Homogeniizer - A homogeniiizer is a piece of laboratory equipment used

for the homogenization of various types of material, such as tissue, plant,
food, soil, and many others
Homogenization is a very common sample preparation step prior to the
analysis of nucleic acids, proteins, cells, metabolism, pathogens, and many
other targets.

 Autoclave - autoclave is a pressurized device designed to heat aqueous

solutions above their boiling point to achieve sterilization.

 Freezers - Most cell culture reagents can be stored at –5°C to –20°C;

therefore an ultra deep freezer is optional for storing most reagents.
While most reagents can resist the temperature variation in an auto defrost
freezer, some reagents such as antibiotics and enzymes should be stored in a
freezer that does not auto defrost.
For small cell culture laboratories, a domestic refrigerator is an adequate and
inexpensive piece of equipment for storing reagents and media at 2–8
degrees

 PH meter – this is an electronic instrument used for measuring the pH of a

liquid.
 A typical pH meter consists of a special measuring probe (a glass electrode)
connected to an electronic meter that measures and displays the pH reading

 Pipette – this Is a laboratory instrument used to transport a measured

volume of liquid.

 Water bath – is a device that maintains water at a constant temperature

It is used in the microbiological laboratory for incubations