• Use a size of bead proportional to the size of your sample. For cell culture or small pieces of tissue, use our smallest beads. For buffer samples of tissue or special applications, use beads 1.0mm or larger.
• You need a volume of beads that is at least half the volume of your sample or liquid in the tube. Using too few beads leads to poor homogenization.
• Are the beads going to introduce a chemical contamination in my sample.
• Since the beads are inexpensive compared to the tubes and the grinding equipment such as metal containers, the grinding media should wear more rapidly than the 'grinding chamber'.

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As grinding beads wear, they need to be replaced. The longer a bead lasts, the cheaper it may be in the long run. However, low cost, hard grinding beads may lead to expensive equipment repairs.
Beads with less under-sized or misshapen pieces will tend to last longer.

Some vendors sell pre-filled micro vials containing supposedly unique combinations of different sizes and types of beads in the same vial. This is mostly marketing.
Save money by loading vials yourself! 

This will take you less than a couple of seconds per vial and even less than half a minute per rack using our Bead Dispenser.

Product photos​