Our first day at Tergus began with an eventful tour through the maze of laboratories and offices that wind through the Tergus campus. This company was definitely much bigger than Integrated Laboratory Solutions. Each lab featured at least a dozen high perfomance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and even gas chromatography machines, among a plethora of other costly lab equipment. Dozens of cubicles lined office rooms, and scientists and other employees alike milled about, test tubes and vials in hand. Clearly, Tergus was what it claimed to be–an efficient, cohesive workplace. I was impressed.
Our first activity of the day was led by Srikanth, a scientist who deals with the formulation of topical products–creams, ointments, spreadables. These skin-based items are what Tergus specializes in, and Srikanth demonstrated a hydrogel mixture for us. Hydrogels, as the name sounds like, includes jelly-textured substances such as hair gel. Today’s recipe amounted to 300 grams, with 1.5 grams of carbomer-980 (a polymer), 10.0 grams of glycerine humectant (the stuff that allows the formula to penetrate the skin), 1.5 grams of trolamine (a material that rebalances the pH to around 7, which is perfect for the epidermis), and around 287 grams of purified water, of course, to make up the majority of the formula. In the end, we each received a crimped tube of the hydrogel mixture as a souvenir–it’ll stand proudly on my bookshelf with all my other odds and ends.
After a quick lunch, we were back to action. One of the highlights of the afternoon was helping out with the janitorial checkups–we made sure the eyewash stations and showers were running smoothly. These checks are part of good lab etiquette, and I’m glad I got a chance to practice them.
I had a lot of fun today, and I was surpised that this Monday has passed so quickly. I look forward to what tomorrow holds.