Frequently Asked Questions

The Solution Preparation laboratory is located in room SV 1822.

The Facility is opened from Monday to Friday from 9:00AM to noon and from  from 1:00PM to 4:30PM.

Our services are offered only to laboratories located on EPFL campus in Lausanne. Our products are delivered to the laboratory areas of the SV and AI buildings. Orders from laboratories located in other buildings of the campus must be picked up directly at the Service. Concerned users are requested to make an appointment with the personnel beforehand.

The Facility offers a wide range of culture media and buffers for routine use in the laboratory. The product catalog can be consulted on this page.

The product catalog can be viewed on this page.

The solution order form can be found on this page. Users wishing to order solutions for the first time are asked to contact the Facillity so that a new user profile can be created for them in the system.

Products in stock ordered before noon are delivered the next day directly to the user’s laboratory in the SV and AI buildings.

Out-of-stock products (agars with specific antibiotics) have a delivery time of 6 days, allowing for the quality controls necessary to ensure the guarantee of the product.

All non-catalog products or special orders are subject to a special procedure. In case of interest, users are kindly requested to contact the Facility by email or by phone 021/693 73 70.

In case of urgent need, users in the SV and AI buildings can place their order online using the form and then contact the collaborators to see if the order can be picked up directly in the Facility prior to the delivery round.

No deliveries are handled for users located in other buildings on campus. They can make an appointment by contacting the Preparation Facility by phone at 021/693 73 70 before going to the reception desk in the SV building lobby.

The Facility offers a service called “One Shot”. This service is used to meet the needs of solutions not included in the catalog of the Facility, either in the case of a first order for a test or in case of urgent needs.

The “One Shot” productions are carried out according to GLP guidelines. Each step of the manual production is traced (weighing, pH, etc.), however, in order to shorten the delivery time, the sterility control is not performed on these batches.

If a second production request is made for the same solution and from the same user, the production procedure will be standardized and the quality control will be included, bringing the delivery delay to the usual time.

Furthermore, the Facility considers all requests for large volumes of media or buffers or for recurrent production of out-of-catalogue solutions. The personnel of the Facility is available for advice on special requests for non-catalog solutions.

Note: The Solution Preparation Facility is committed to offering its users products at a lower cost than those offered by external suppliers. A solution whose production cost is higher than that of an identical preparation available on the market will not be produced by the Service.

A price list is available here (Google drive EPFL, please login with an EPFL email address and associated Gaspar password).

For all non-catalog special media requests, a quote is submitted to the user for approval before production is started.

The “One Shot” service is used to meet the need for solutions not included in the catalog of the Facility, either in the case of a first order, for example in the context of a test or in case of imminent need.

Productions in “One Shot” mode are carried out according to GLP guidelines. Each step of the manual production is traced (weighing, pH, etc.), however, in order to shorten the delivery time, the sterility control is not performed on these batches.

If a second production request is made for the same solution from the same user, the production procedure will be standardized and the quality control will be included, bringing the delivery delay to the usual time.

The “One Shot” service can be ordered when it is the first order of a non-catalog product, for example, in an emergency or as part of a laboratory test.

Users can make their “One Shot” request by email to the Facility. The request must contain the following information:

  • Protocol of the solution;
  • Desired volume;
  • Desired and calculated concentration(s),
  • List of equipment needed for the preparation (e.g. balance, pH meter, micropipettes, etc.).

Users must also ensure that they have all the necessary raw materials for the preparation and that they are not out of date.

Upon receipt of the request, the Facility will evaluate it and inform the requestor as soon as possible about the feasibility of the production. The price will be indicated before the user decides to formalize the order.