Western’s Greg O’Neil and graduate students invented a bottle adapter that makes researchers safer in the lab

Like many researchers in the lab, Professor and Chair of Western’s Department of Chemistry Greg O’Neil and his graduate students, Kaden Hekker, Adam Jones and Hunter Peterson, frequently handle dangerous chemicals, often referred to as “reagents.”  

Many reagents are air- and moisture-sensitive, which means they have the potential to ignite upon contact, cause an explosion or initiate dangerous chain reactions. Researchers often work with these dangerous chemicals in a glovebox — a sealed chamber with heavy gloves built into the side. Inside the chamber is a strictly controlled atmosphere under an inert gas like argon or nitrogen. But gloveboxes can be frustrating and time consuming because they limit workspace and reduce dexterity.  

Since the 60s, reagents have come in glass bottles sealed by a gas-tight and chemically stable membrane. And though the membrane material has evolved some, the basic technology hasn’t changed.   

Researchers must insert a long, hollow needle through the membrane seal, which requires a significant amount of force, to access reagents. O’Neil and his students tested the amount of force required to penetrate the seals and determined that with repeated use, the seals require increasingly more force, raising the physical risk to the researchers.  

“Puncture wounds are really common in the laboratory. I’ve experienced it and so have students. It’s a scary risk,” O’Neil said. “And when I’m observing a new student in the lab — you want them to gain the independence to do it on their own. If they move on in industry, they’ll encounter these things. So knowing how to do this as safely as possible and understanding the technique, well, that really increases a student’s hireability.” 

After 24 punctures, O’Neil’s team found that the seals became too brittle to be punctured again and could no longer be used. 

Lacerations, puncture wounds and resulting infections are the most common injuries suffered by lab researchers and account for 32 percent of reported incidents. If the syringe is filled at the time of puncture, exposure to chemicals is an additional danger and is the second most common injury, accounting for 19 percent of reported incidents.  

O’Neil developed a bottle adapter that allows researchers to safely access reagents outside of a glovebox and without having to stick a huge needle through a tough membrane.  

With funding from the Washington Research Foundation, which is managed by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), O’Neil enlisted graduate students Hekker, Jones and Peterson during the research and development of this new product, and together, they presented their findings and the new bottle adapter at the American Chemical Society’s annual meetings in San Diego in March. Their invention is covered under a suite of provisional patents currently, and WWU is in the initial process of reviewing the product for full patent.   

“So far, we have two separate patent applications pending in the U.S. and Europe covering different aspects of the invention. It may be a few more years before patents are issued, but that’s normal, and the development and commercialization process can go forward in parallel,” said WWU’s Vice Provost for Research David Patrick. 

The bottle adapter has an open top and a flexible bottom designed to fit snugly over the top of reagent bottles of different sizes. There’s a little tube that protrudes from the top rim of the cap. When a nitrogen or argon hose is hooked up to the tube, then gas flows through a canal in the rim of the cap and floods the headspace around the opening of the bottle, which keeps air and moisture from making contact with the reagent.  

Western’s chemistry department is known for prioritizing mentorship and is ranked #1 in the nation among similar departments at master’s-granting institutions for the number of graduates who go on to earn a doctorate degree. And in recent years, broadening alumni prospects even further, some faculty like O’Neil have embraced an untraditional but welcome shift toward industry. 

“This is definitely a shift for us to start thinking about patents. It’s maybe not super traditional for lots of academics, but it’s a great opportunity for the students,” said O’Neil. “It’s great for the university financially — then the spinoffs remain local. It creates job opportunities and is good for the community.”  

Kaden Hekker is the lead graduate student on the project. She is a recipient of the Western Innovation Training (WIT) Fellowship, which is designed to help faculty and students navigate the process of bringing a new technology to the commercial market. The WIT Fellowship is made possible through a partnership between Washington Research Foundation and Western’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. 

WWU’s Director of Research and Sponsored Programs Lindsey Frallic said, “The fact that Kaden was a participant as an undergraduate and, now, as a graduate student speaks volumes about her outstanding academic achievement, growth and passion for the work. She has a wonderful ability to help laypeople understand the importance of the project and shows incredible initiative in leveraging the resources and working connections that the WIT Fellowship program provides.” 

Hekker said she was surprised by how many different opportunities unfolded for her team of grad students on the business side of this project.  

“This part of it is really unique. With intellectual property, you can get into people’s egos and people can be really territorial with what is theirs. But I really feel like this has been handed to us with a lot of trust, and that has allowed us to do a lot of really unique work because, you know, you sign up for a master’s in chemistry; I had this Western Innovation Training Fellowship, but I was really expecting the bulk to be chemistry. And I’ve gotten to do a lot of learning about business planning and applications and IP and patent information,” said Hekker.  

The team went through a variety of prototypes before finding the ideal size and material for the bottle adapter that is flexible enough to work with bottles of various sizes.  

“It was really fun because I was on the outside being the ideas guy while Kaden was going through the trenches. Being able to get those materials right was incredible trial and error. It had to be 90 percent air in order to be squishy. All these things you don’t think about coming together just right — it’s very goldilocks,” said Jones. 

Hekker said, “One thing I didn’t expect was how easy it was to reach out to manufacturers to get prototypes made.”  

Working together on this invention gave Hekker, Jones and Peterson an important opportunity to work closely with a variety of faculty, mentors and other folks in the community.  

“Shout-out to RSP and Dr. O’Neil for allowing this to come to life. It was our biggest opportunity — something we will always appreciate! There are no PhD students, so we get so much interaction with faculty. We have different advisors for the business side, different for IP, different for technology and the manufacturers. I don’t think you get that at a bigger institution,” said Peterson. 

O’Neil’s grad students all agreed that he is a generous advisor and has provided an invaluable opportunity for them.  

“Dr. O’Neil is really encouraging. This all was originally his idea. Us being able to have our names on this patent — he didn’t have to let that happen. He’s given us a stake in this and has been extremely encouraging in that way,” said Jones. 

There are a number of patents being developed at Western alongside O’Neil’s safety-focused bottle adapter. Associate Professor Sura Al-Qudah is working with students to prototype a device to help guide surgical rod implantation in long bones like the tibia or femur; Associate Professor David Gill’s ArcSaw can cut through highly specialized materials with less risk to users, less mess and lower materials cost; and Professor David Wallin and Associate Professor John Lund are working with students to develop long range RFID location-tracking technology for land use and wildlife tracking. 

WWU faculty are innovative and solutions-focused, and their students are already making their mark as inventors. 

Learn more about Western's master's program in chemistry.  

Allie Spikes covers the WWU Graduate School and Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies for University Communications. Reach out to her with story ideas at spikesa@wwu.edu.