Consumables refer to items that are intended to be used once or have a limited lifespan before they need to be replaced. These include materials and products that are consumed or depleted during the course of experiments or procedures. Consumables are critical for maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reproducibility of scientific experiments. In BrainSTEM, consumables are a shared model across users.
Types of consumable
Reagents and Solutions
- Pharmacological agents: Drugs and compounds used for anesthesia, analgesia, behavioral modulation, or pharmacological intervention (e.g., ketamine, buprenorphine, muscimol).
- Physiological solutions: Buffers and fluids such as saline, PBS, or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) used in perfusion, injections, and surgical preparation.
- Virus constructs: Engineered viral vectors (e.g., AAV, lentivirus) used for delivering genetic material into neurons or glial cells.
- Tracer dyes: Fluorescent or visible dyes like DiI, CTB, and Fast Green used for anatomical tracing, injection visualization, or tissue marking.
- Antibodies and immunoreagents: Reagents used for labeling proteins and cell types in immunohistochemistry, such as primary/secondary antibodies and counterstains (e.g., DAPI).
- Chemical reagents: Common lab chemicals like paraformaldehyde (PFA), Triton X-100, and EDTA used in tissue preparation, fixation, or signal amplification.
Device-Linked Consumables
- Silicon probe designs: Microfabricated electrode arrays (e.g., Neuropixels, NeuroNexus) used for high-density extracellular electrophysiological recordings.
- Single wire electrodes: Simple electrodes used for stimulation or recording from single brain regions or peripheral targets.
- Optic fiber designs: Configurations of optic fibers for light delivery in optogenetics or signal collection in fiber photometry setups.
- Optical components: Implantable optical elements such as GRIN lenses, microprisms, or cranial windows for in vivo imaging and optical access to the brain.
- Consumable devices: Subject-mounted components like headstage baseplates, miniscope adapters, microdrives, or chronic interface mounts that are consumed per experiment or animal.
Submission process
Anyone can submit consumables or submit changes to existing ones, but all submissions must be approved before they are available for usage. Please see existing entries for examples as to what to submit.
Fields
- Name: The name of the consumable (required; must be unique).
- Type: The type of consumable - see available types above (required).
- Supplier: The supplier of the consumable (required).
- Description: A description of the consumable.
- Type specific fields: Each type has custom fields (required).
Permissions
Once a entry has been approved it becomes available to everyone.
API Access
The API allows for programmable access, enabling you to read, edit, and delete entries through the API. For details about the fields and data structure, refer to the documentation.
