A simple and low-cost monitoring system to investigate environmental conditions in a biological research laboratory

Abstract

Basic equipment such as incubation and refrigeration systems plays a critical role in nearly all aspects of the traditional biological research laboratory. Their proper functioning is therefore essential to ensure reliable and repeatable experimental results. Despite this fact, in many academic laboratories little attention is paid to validating and monitoring their function, primarily due to the cost and/or technical complexity of available commercial solutions. We have therefore developed a simple and low-cost monitoring system that combines a "Raspberry Pi" single-board computer with USB-connected sensor interfaces to track and log parameters such as temperature and pressure, and send email alert messages as appropriate. The system is controlled by open-source software, and we have also generated scripts to automate software setup so that no background in programming is required to install and use it. We have applied it to investigate the behaviour of our own equipment, and present here the results along with the details of the monitoring system used to obtain them.