The first step is to look at the material
We all know that cryopreservation tubes are mainly used for low-temperature transportation and storage of tissue or cell samples, and are commonly used in biological research and medical fields.
Because the cryovial is in direct contact with the sample, the first step is to choose the right material to avoid contamination of the sample by the material.
Generally, cryovials are made of non-cytotoxic materials, and commonly used materials in laboratories include plastic and glass. However, because glass cryovials cannot be used in high-speed or ultracentrifuges, plastic cryovials are more commonly used.
There are so many plastic materials, how to choose?
Five words, choose "polypropylene material" with your eyes closed!
Polypropylene has very good chemical and temperature stability and can withstand low temperatures as low as minus 187°C in the gaseous state of liquid nitrogen.
In addition, if you have higher requirements for sample safety, you can choose non-mutagenic raw materials and pyrogen-free VID-compatible tubes. And be careful not to open it before use. If it has been opened, it must be sterilized before use!
The second move depends on the composition
Cryopreservation vials are generally composed of a cap and a tube body, and are divided into internal screw cap and external screw cap cryovials. If the sample is to be stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen, use an internal rotation cryopreservation tube with a silica gel pad; if the sample is to be stored in a mechanical device, such as a refrigerator, use an external rotation cryopreservation tube, usually without a silica gel pad.
We are just a simple and crude person, Ang~
Generally speaking, the low-temperature resistance of internal-rotation cryovials is better than that of external-rotation cryovials. The specific choice should be based on actual needs.
The third trick is to look at the specifications.
According to experimental requirements, cryovials generally have specifications such as 0.5ml, 1.0ml, 2.0ml, and 5ml.
The commonly used cryopreservation tubes for biological samples are generally 2ml in size. It should be noted that the volume of the sample cannot generally exceed two-thirds of the volume of the cryopreservation tube, so the appropriate choice needs to be based on the size of the frozen sample. of cryovials
In addition, there are differences in cryogenic tubes between double-layer and non-double-layer, erectable and non-erectable, domestic and imported, and price. These are all factors to consider when choosing cryopreservation vials.