Tubes and Vials
Laboratory tubes and vials are essential items of glassware or plasticware found in most laboratories. They encompass a broad range of products ranging from general purpose testtubes through to centrifuge tubes, microtubes and vials.
Tubes and vials can be manufactured from glass for high heat and chemical resistance (soda lime and borosilicate) or plastics such as polypropylene, polystyrene or fluoropolymer. Amber or black materials are available for light-sensitive samples. Many are autoclavable and reusable, some are designed to be disposable and single-use only.
Tubes and vials are supplied in a range of heights, diameters, wall thicknesses, bottom shapes (round or flat), rim and closure styles in capacities from a few microlitres up to 25mL. Closures can be simple stoppers, screw-tops, push-tops, snap-tops or crimp-tops. Tubes and vials may be supplied sterile (especially for cell culture or microbiological applications) or non-sterile for more general laboratory use. They can also be graduated with write-on patches for labelling.
- Special centrifuge and microcentrifuge tubes are designed to withstand high centrifugal forces without rupturing
- Specialist tubes for molecular biology techniques are low-binding, DNase/RNase and protease free
- Speciality tubes for cryogenic storage (sometimes called ‘cryotubes’) can withstand long-term exposure to ultra-low temperatures
- Vials for HPLC and GC may be supplied with special septum seals
Applications are numerous. They include:
- General biological and chemical assays and tests
- Sample and specimen storage
- Teaching and demonstration
- Cell and microbial culture
- Specific analytical applications such as HPLC, GC and NMR and specialist biological techniques such as PCR