Difference between revisions of "Help:Requesting Parts"

Revision as of 18:15, 19 May 2011

Our goal when creating the distribution every year is to create a kit with high quality confirmed parts and some new parts that were recently submitted. However, this means that not all the parts available through the Registry are available in your distribution kit. You may be interested in using a part that is not available in your distribution, or you may find that a part in your distribution may have an alternate source with better QC results. In cases like these feel free to make a request by sending an email to hq (at) igem . org.

Note: You must be a member of an iGEM team or lab group in order to obtain parts from the Registry. If you would like to become an iGEM lab see the Users & Groups page for instructions.

Is your part available?

Not all the parts on the Registry are available for request. Some parts are in the planning stage, and have yet to be sent to the Registry. The easiest way to identify if a part is available would be to look at the part's status, located at the top right of the part's main page. We are only able to send out parts that are listed as Available.

Note: Parts with a DNA status of DNA Planning have not been physically sent to the Registry. Therefore these parts are not available for request.

Making a Request

When you have found an available part you would like to request you should click on the Get This Part link located in the top right corner of the part's main page. The "Get This Part" page will list various locations within the Registry for that part, and also include the QC information that part has gone through.

The Get This Part page is extremely useful when requesting a part. It will tell you:

• if your part is already included in your Distribution Kit
• various locations for the part in the Registry
• any QC information tied to the part and its source

You can use the following information to email a request to hq (at) igem . org. The subject should be along the lines of "Part Request: [Your Team's Name]."

Be sure to include the following:

1. iGEM team or lab name
2. part name (BBa...)
3. plasmid and resistance
4. source plate and well

Things to keep in mind

• Many of the part's available through the Registry have undergone quality control testing. Prior to requesting a part take a look at this information, as it should affect your decision on using the part. See here if you need help interpreting QC results on the "Get This Part" page.

• Prior to making a request it is helpful to consider all of the parts that the team needs for your project. We prefer bundling part requests together rather than receiving several small requests, as this cuts down shipping costs and improves efficiency.

• Once a request is made you should be contacted by iGEM HQ within two business days.

Shipping Times

For shipments within the United States shipping times are generally no more than two days through FedEx. For international shipments, shipping times through DHL can differ by a number of days depending on the receiver's address.

Using agar stabs

We send out our part requests as agar stabs. The shelf life of these are short, so it is usually best to plate from the stab as soon as possible.

• The agar should already have a hole from when it was stabbed. With an inoculating loop dipped into the stab, you can plate directly onto a petri dish with the appropriate antibiotic.
• Incubate the dish overnight at 37C (14-16hr)
• Pick a single colony to start up a culture