Lab agitators play a crucial role in laboratories across various life science disciplines, including molecular biology, biochemistry, and clinical chemistry, by facilitating the mixing of liquids. These laboratory tools come in different types based on their construction, movement style, and additional features to cater to diverse mixing needs.
Researchers commonly use shakers and vortexers for circular or orbital shaking motions, which makes them effective for blending small liquid volumes in vessels like test tubes and microcentrifuge tubes. They find applications in tasks such as electrophoresis gel staining, bacterial cell growth, and dissolution studies, offering versatility in laboratory operations.
Platform rockers provide a gentle back-and-forth mixing motion suitable for low-agitation tasks like tissue fixation and blotting applications that require consistent movement. Nutating mixers blend the actions of orbital shakers and rockers to achieve thorough yet gentle mixing without causing foaming, making them ideal for mixing samples in small containers like blood and tissue samples.
Laboratory shaking incubators are specialized equipment designed to create controlled and uniform conditions for the growth, incubation, and agitation of biological samples. These incubators combine standard incubator features with a shaking mechanism, serving various life science applications such as microbiology, cell culture, and molecular biology for precise sample handling and processing.
If you encounter difficulty in selecting the best agitator for your lab, the Lab Agitation Equipment Guide can provide valuable insights into various options and available solutions. Additionally, the guide helps researchers identify eco-friendly options and offer best practices for improving performance while supporting waste management initiatives in the lab.