A student-prepared silver−silver chloride reference electrode is described. The chemical deposition of AgCl(s) onto Ag(s) is accomplished in 30−50 s by placement of a Ag(s) wire in laundry bleach. An autopipettor tip with an agarose gel plug serves as the electrode housing; the agarose gel contains predissolved KNO 3 . Reference electrode preparation is completed in about 10 min, allowing enough time for laboratory exercises that utilize the electrode. Preparation and operation of the electrode and recovery of the Ag(s) are designed to teach a number of important chemistry principles.

I describe a simple, rapid technique for saturating the transferrin in serum and then removing unbound (excess) iron. This technique involves use of an easily prepared column of basic chromatographic alumina and a saturating solution of ferric chloride in citric acid. This method, when compared with the magnesium carbonate method of Ramsay (Clin. Chim. Acta 2: 221, 1957) by regression analysis and tests of precision, showed a negative bias for results by the alumina technique with respect to the magnesium carbonate method.