Laboratory Sample Collection

Vials

Vials can be used for collection, storage, and transport of samples and are available in a variety of materials, sizes, and shapes with various closures for sample preservation and recovery. Glass vials are more resistant to higher temperatures and are typically more chemically inert, making them compatible with harsh detergents and solvents. Plastic vials won't shatter as easily and are available in several materials to increase chemical compatibility and autoclavability. Both types of vial are available in sterile and non-sterile versions. Vials are clear for easy sample visualization or made of amber glass or tinted plastic for samples that are sensitive to light. Colored caps enable for quick identification of samples.

Tubes

Tubes are used for solid or liquid sample collection, transport, storage, and testing. While some tubes are designed for general use, application-specific tubes including test tubes, culture tubes, centrifuge tubes, microcentrifuge tubes, PCR tubes, and cryotubes are designed to meet specific temperature, force, sterility, and chemical compatibility requirements. Multiple types of glass and plastic tube materials can be selected based on durability, inertness, and other characteristics. Round-bottom and conical-bottom tubes can increase sample recovery. Disposable and reusable tubes are available based on convenience and safety needs. Screw caps provide extra safety in preventing leakage and spilling. Plug closures and snap closures facilitate easier tube manipulation.

Bottles

Bottles are most often used to store chemicals, solvents, and other liquids, and are available in specific shapes to suit recovery, safety, and storage needs. Bottles are made from glass for inertness or various plastics that have different chemical compatibilities. Clear glass or natural plastics allow maximum visibility. Amber-tinted glass and opaque plastics are recommended for light-sensitive materials. Bottles may be disposable or made of materials supporting autoclavability or cleaning for re-use as needed.

Bags

Whirl-Pak® sterilized sampling bags are ideal for food & beverage, dairy, water, medical, veterinary, environmental, soil, and industrial markets as well as surface, forensic science, genetics, biomedical, and pharmaceutical sampling. Whirl-Pak® bags have been the professionals’ trusted sampling bag for 60 years and offer puncture-proof closure tabs, guaranteed sterility, easy identification, and a leak-proof closure you can rely on.

Tweezers and Spatulas

Laboratory tweezers and forceps are small tools useful in a range of laboratory and other working environments for gripping and manipulating small or delicate objects. Tweezers and forceps are available in a range of sizes, styles, and design variations:

With pointed, blunt, rounded, curved, angled, or flat tips
With plain or serrated inner surfaces for extra grip
With scissor-type handles
With defined dimensions for precision work
With foam or silicone-covered handles or tips for extra grip
With self-closing/locking guide pins to keep the tips aligned for a firmer grip
With an inert PTFE coating to prevent contamination, scratching, or damage of delicate samples

Spatulas are available in a range of sizes and styles designed for breaking up, scraping off, picking up, and transferring chemical solids, powders, granules, or other materials. Laboratory spatulas are manufactured with handles of varying lengths, with one or both tips fashioned into tooled ends of various shapes or designs depending upon the intended application.

Racks

Racks are used to support, organize, and store various types of glassware, labware and other items. Laboratory racks are available for pipets, test tubes, microtubes, vials, petri dishes, microplates, and other labware. Racks are made from a variety of materials including plain and epoxy-coated metal, wood, and various plastics. Racks for test tubes and microtubes have openings of various sizes to accommodate specific tube diameters.

Microplates

Microplates are multi-well plates used for sample storage, biochemical and cellular assays, and analytical methods. Lids, film, tape, caps, or mats can be used to seal plates during processing, incubation, or storage. Plates should be selected based on:

Material: Microplates are typically made of glass or plastic. Glass-bottom microplates have excellent optical properties and are typically reserved for high content cell imaging applications. Plastic-bottom plates can be used for a variety of fluorescence, colorimetric, cell culture, and cell imaging applications. Cyclic olefin plates are made of a polymer that both supports cell adherence and offers optical properties similar to glass.
Well number: Plates are available in 24-, 96-, 384-, and 1536-well formats depending on throughput needs and volume requirements
Well shape: Round-bottom wells help ensure mixing and facilitate recovery of samples when needed. Flat bottom plates are required for imaging applications.
Plate color: Black plates are typically used for fluorescent and high signal luminescent applications to reduce background phosphorescence and autofluorescence. White plates can be used for time-resolved fluorescence and low signal luminescence assays. Clear-bottom plates enable bottom-reading measurements and microscopic visualization.
Plate coatings: plates are available pre-treated for sterility or low protein binding, or coated with collagen, poly-D-lysine, and other molecules to facilitate cell attachment