Tech blog

Vortexers, or vortex mixers, gently agitate liquid samples by creating a vortex motion within the sample tube. Vortexers are composed of a drive shaft, oriented vertically, and connected to an electric motor, encased in a plastic or steel housing. The top end of the drive shaft protrudes from the housing and attaches to a micro-tube cup adapter or rack designed to accommodate microplates or multiple test tubes. Simple vortexers turn on automatically when a micro-tube, containing the sample, is pressed into the rubber cup. Advanced vortexers include analog or digital controllers with on/off switches, mixing speed controls, vortex timers, and alarms.

Laboratory homogenizers mix, blend or pulverize chemical and biological samples to form a uniform, homogenous suspension for further analysis. More specifically, homogenizers are used to lyse cellular structures, mill environmental samples, emulsify immiscible materials, and disperse chemical compounds by particle size.

Microplates, or microtiter plates, are designed to hold microliter aliquots of samples for analytical research and clinical diagnostic testing. 

Laboratory circulators and chillers precisely control the temperature of deionized water, bath fluid, or PH-neutral buffer for delivery to integrated or external water baths, analytical instruments, incubators, and wet processing stations.

Laboratory furnaces are composed of a heating element connected to a sampling chamber and regulated by a digital controller.

Laboratory evaporators remove solvents, such as acetone, methanol, DMSO or water, from aqueous samples for solvent recycling or distillation, sample purification, compound separation, or sample concentration.

Laboratory gel imagers, or gel documentation systems, are used by research labs to visualize and photo-document nucleic acid samples separated through gel electrophoresis, count microbial colonies, separate protein samples on western blots, and identify mixtures through thin layer chromatography (TLC).

Laboratory transilluminators,or gel light boxes, are used by life science labs to visualize DNA, RNA or protein samples separated throughgel electrophoresis. Lab transilluminators contain an ultraviolet UV) or visible blue or white) light source, glass viewing surface, UV-blocking or amber filter cover.

Laboratory ovens are composed of a heating element connected to a sample storage chamber and regulated by an analog or digital controller. While the internal storage chamber is commonly made from chemical-resistant, 304-grade stainless steel, the oven exterior is regularly made from corrosion-resistant, durable powder-coated steel. 

Laboratory and medical-grade refrigerators are manufactured in a broad range of sizes, from benchtop models smaller than 6 cubic feet to upright, double-door models larger than 40 cubic feet. Refrigerators smaller than 6 cubic feet are designed to fit on crowded work surfaces or under pharmacy counters to provide point-of-use cold storage for media, reagents, or vaccines.

High-capacity, upright refrigerators include microprocessor controls to maintain precise, uniform conditions throughout the storage area to prevent sample spoilage due to temperature fluctuations. Double-door and triple-door refrigerators isolate samples from different production batches to prevent cross-contamination and exposure during refrigerator access.