• Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty and students, under the direction of Dr. Pam Weathers, have produced a series of biotechnology educational videos intended for use by students ranging from high school to 4 year colleges as well as by some industrial trainers.

• These videos are not intended to stand alone but to be used in conjunction with an active laboratory and under the guidance of trained personnel.

• Each video describes the fundamentals of the technology being shown and illustrates the use of the technology through a simple experiment that is explained in the film. 

• WPI students are the primary actors in all of the videos which are done in a narrative style

• There was a significant input of advice, facilities and literature from the biotechnology industry. Each video lists the industrial participant in the credits.

• These are being sold in sets of two or three film subjects on one VHS tape for $34.95 plus shipping and handling.  PAL formatted videos are an extra $15.00 U.S. each.

• The following videos are available and can be purchased through Kitchen Culture Kits, Inc. who has agreed to serve as sole distributor. KCK has not produced any of the videos.

***This video was not produced by Kitchen Culture Kits, Inc., and does not demonstrate KCK methods.

• Sterile Procedures (11 min) explains the basic concepts of sterile technique for microbial cultures, isolation of single colonies, innoculation of liquids, inoculation of plates, streak plates and spread plates, and incubation of cultures
• Sterile Hood (14 min) explains both the laminar flow hood and the downdraft hood in terms of their operation and their proper use. Transfer of sterile plant cultures is demonstrated.  Directions for the construction of a functional, inexpensive home made hood are provided.
• Plant Tissue Culture(14 min) discusses the concept of totipotency and the micropropagation industry. All stages of micropropagation from primary explant to acclimatization are shown.

• Sterile Procedures  (see above)
• Sterile Hood (see above)
• Animal Tissue Culture (20 min) discusses the fundamental techniques including all stages from primary explant to harvesting using chick embryos for initiation, isolation, and passaging of fibroblasts.  Students are also shown how to count cells and the use of a CO₂  incubator.

• Fermentation (9 min) shows students how to construct a simple fermenter out of a juice bottle.  A fermentation using fruit juice and yeast is performed and the amount of CO₂ produced is graphed to show growth, respiration, and how a process can be tracked.
• Tangential Flow Filtration (23 min) is important in downstream processing.  This video explains the concepts and shows how a large colored molecule like blue dextran can be separated from a small molecule. The video was made in conjunction with the Millipore Corporation
• Chromatography  (19 min) teaches the basic principles of paper and column chromatography.  Students separate the components in grape Kool-Aid using both paper and column chromotography.

• Gas Chromatography (15 min) illustrates the concepts involved in gas chromatography.  The separation and quantification of the gas ethylene, produced by ripening apples, is measured as an illustration.
• HPLC (27 min) explains the component parts of an HPLC and the concepts involved in developing or altering sample elution patterns.  A simple example is shown using colored dyes and Kool-Aid.
• Spectrophotometry  (15 min) shows how a spectrophotometer works, the fundamentals of Beers Law, how to develop a standard curve, and how to use a standard curve to analyze data collected from unknown concentrations of samples.

• Gel Electrophoresis  (20 min) shows how to construct a simple, inexpensive gel electrophoresis apparatus, including a power supply, from everyday materials.  The theory of electrophoresis is explained and a separation of simple but differently charged dyes, is conducted.
• Western Blot Technique (20 min) is explained using the transfer and detection of perioxidase enzymes extracted from plant tissues as an illustration in lieu of the use of labeled antibody.  The video also explains how labeled antibodies are used to detect a single protein out of a mixture of many proteins.