Joanne Long - IO Rodeo Blog

New colorimeter open hardware design expands flexibility

Our open hardware colorimeter is a popular tool for measurements analytes using colorimetric assays. We initially designed the colorimeter as an educational kit in 2012 with Kickstarter funding.

Hardware

Archived projects

As we move into working on new products, we thought it might be useful to put together a list of all of our archived open hardware products. Most of the projects listed are no longer actively supported, however the documentation contains useful links to design files, BOMs and make instructions.

Rodeostat FeatherWing

Assembly of the Rodeostat FeatherWing

The Rodeostat FeatherWing is sold as an unassembled kit. The kit includes the Rodeostat FeatherWing v0.3 board (PCB with all of the smt components), and a set of through-hole components.

pH Featherwing

Assembly of the pH FeatherWing

The pH FeatherWing is sold as an unassembled kit. The kit includes the pH FeatherWing v0.2 board (PCB with all of the smt components), and a set of through-hole components. These are i) 3-pin screw terminal connector (blue), ii) 12-pin and 16-pin headers and iii) BNC connector. pH FeatherWing

Making an open source COVID-19 face shield

Like many people, we have been alarmed at the reports of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been following the work of many individuals and groups on social media making open source PPE as we try to

Rodeostat

Rodeostat Muliplexer Kit getting started guide

The multiplexer kit is an add-on accessory for the Rodeostat which expands the number of working electrodes that can be used with the Rodeostat from one to seven converting it from a single-channel to a multi-channel potentiostat. In this guide we describe how to connect the multiplexer expansion board to

pH Featherwing

Creating a pH meter using the pH FeatherWing

In this blog post we demonstrate how to create a pH meter using the pH FeatherWing, an Adafruit Feather M4 Express and a few additional components. The meter will display a continuous readout of the current pH and can be calibrated, via button press, at pH values of 4, 7

electrochemistry

Bismuth modified carbon paste electrode for metal measurements

In the experiments described in this blog post, we made a bismuth modified carbon paste electrode for detecting heavy metals, lead and zinc, using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry and the Rodeostat potentiostat. This is a continuation of our experiments using electrochemistry to measure lead and other heavy metal pollutants

electrochemistry

Making a carbon paste electrode

In this blog post we describe making a DIY carbon paste electrode using graphite powder/mineral oil mix and a custom-made reusable holder.

electrochemistry

Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry and metal testing

The Rodeostat python library has several electrochemistry programs currently implemented including cyclic voltammetry, constant voltage, linear sweep, chronoamperometry and more. We have recently added a square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) program to the library. Stripping voltammetry is a powerful electroanalytical technique for the detection of trace metals in the

Hardware

Electrophoresis power supply - LCD display

We have recently updated the electrophoresis power supply to include an LCD display as shown in the images below. The price of the power supply kits remains the same ($65 for a kit). We also have a fully assembled and ready-to-use power supply option for $109 here. The online documentation

electrochemistry

Making a custom electrochemical cell

In this blog post we describe making a simple custom electrode mount that we used in cyclic voltammetry experiments with the Rodeostat potentiostat. The electrodes we used were purchased from CH Instruments but the custom mount could be easily modified for use with other electrodes.

electrochemistry

Chronoamperometry with glucose test strips

In this electrochemistry experiment we used the Rodeostat potentiostat to measure glucose in liquids using commonly available glucose test strips. Glucose test strips are a type of biosensor - they convert biochemical reactions to an electrochemical signal. Each glucose test strip contains the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) and an electron

electrochemistry

Cyclic voltammetry with the Rodeostat

In this blog post we carried out a cyclic voltammetry experiment with ruthenium hexamine Ru(NH3)6 a reversible redox couple.

Hardware

Open source potentiostat features

In this blog post we give a quick overview of some of the main differences between two open source potentiostats: Rodeostat and Cheapstat.

Testing a lead colorimetric assay

In this blog post we describe our initial testing of a colorimetric kit for measuring lead in drinking water. In 2015, a Virginia Tech research team found that over 40% of the homes in Flint, MI had elevated lead water levels with 25% of homes well above the EPA 15

Hardware

Measuring emission spectra for the blue LED transilluminator

Our blue LED transilluminators use a 470 nm LED array in combination with blue and amber acrylic filters for viewing DNA bands in agarose gels stained with DNA dyes. Images of gels stained with Greenview, GelGreen and others can be seen in previous posts on our archived site here: http:

electrochemistry

Cyclic voltammetry testing with the Rodeostat

In this blog post we provide data from our testing of the new Rodeostat. We performed a side-by-side comparison between the Rodeostat and the Cheapstat potentiostat using ascorbate cyclic voltammetry experiments.

Hardware

IO Rodeo Open Source Potentiostat

We have recently been working on a new potentiostat. The Rodeostat (initally referred to as a potentiostat shield) is an open source potentiostat for performing electrochemical measurements which is designed to work with the teensy 3.2 development board. The Rodeostat is easily programmed with the popular Arduino IDE (Teensyduino)

electrochemistry

Potentiostat dummy cells

One of our most frequently asked questions on the Forums and via email is how to produce a calibration for the Cheapstat potentiostat. The Cheapstat potentiostat returns measured current values as raw unitless integers read from the ADC (analog to digital converter) at the output of the transimpedance amplifier (current

Online forum launched

We have launched a new online forum: http://forum.iorodeo.com. Our aim in launching this Forum is that over time it will become a valuable resource for people interested in open source science equipment and DIYBio and grow to become a place to view frequently asked questions and discussions

Hardware

Using an imaging enclosure for photographing gels

Photographing gels is an important step in research projects that involve any kind of visual or quantitative DNA analysis by electrophoresis. Decent gel imaging requires a fairly simple set-up of a light-tight box with a transilluminator, camera and suitable filters. In research, teaching or DIYBio labs, finding a suitable light-tight