PYREX® lab glassware can take the heat
The most recognizable name in beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, media bottles, and other lab essentials
PYREX®. It’s one of the most recognizable names in science.
PYREX® lab glassware shatters the competition when it comes to both features and function. From heavy duty beakers to top quality Erlenmeyer flasks, there’s a reason PYREX® lab glassware is trusted by scientists, both pros and amateurs, and found in labs around the world.
The most popular lab glassware essentials among scientists in 2021:
The basics behind your lab glassware
Ever wonder why your laboratory beakers, cylinders, and flasks are made of glass? Some of the benefits to choosing PYREX® lab glassware for your science essentials include:
- Chemical resistance: Borosilicate glass excels and outperforms plastics with its high chemical resistance against a variety of substances, including acids, alkalis, organic solvents, saline solutions, water and more. The only substances you have to worry about destroying your glassware are hydrofluoric acid, strong alkalis used at high temperatures and concentrated phosphoric acid.
- Transparency: It’s no secret that borosilicate glass is a high transparency material, allowing light to pass through it. And allowing you clearer visibility of your samples than plastic or metal options.
- Dimensional stability: Even when subjected to changes in the environment, like high temperatures and humidity, PYREX® lab glass maintains its original dimensions far better than most materials.
- Easy cleaning: The smooth, glossy surface makes your essential lab equipment dustproof, waterproof, corrosion proof and significantly easier to clean and maintain.
Lab glassware vs. the stuff in your kitchen
Lab glassware refers to a variety of equipment used in analytical laboratories, chemistry, biology and more. You’ll be hard pressed to find a lab that doesn’t have specialized glassware on desks and in shelves.
However, not all glassware is created equal. Different technical glass types have different properties, making them useful for different applications.
- Soda lime glass: Most commonly used in homes, soda lime glass is the glass used in everything from pickle jars to your drinking glasses. It’s inexpensive and versatile, can handle limited heat stress, and can only handle short exposure to chemicals. However, it’s far more susceptible to breaking from falls or thermal shock. While it might be ideal in your kitchen cabinet, it’s not ideal for a lot of harsher laboratory conditions.
- Tempered glass: Tempered glass is soda lime glass that’s been treated for durability. How does that happen? During the heat-tempering process, the outside of the glass is force-cooled (and forced to solidify quickly), while the center cools more slowly. As the inside cools, it creates tension between the center and outer layer. Tempered glass can be a good option for some laboratory uses, and while it can still break, it typically crumbles into dull pieces rather than long, thin shards. It’s commonly used as safety glass, in car passenger windows and shower doors.
- Borosilicate glass: Borosilicate glass can withstand a range of chemicals and high temperatures, and is built to withstand thermal shock and mechanical shock. That’s why PYREX® laboratory glassware uses borosilicate glass. Beyond lab glassware, borosilicate glass is also commonly used in scientific lenses, hot mirrors, bakeware and cookware, for thermal insulation, in electronics, for high-intensity lighting products and more.
What is thermal shock?
Thermal shock is a reaction to sudden and extreme changes in temperature. Glass is generally a poor conductor of heat, which has handling benefits. But when you take hot glass and immerse it in a cold environment (like cold water), the outside of the glass cools quickly, while the inside does not. This causes stress, which can cause the glass to shatter. Obviously, a big safety issue!
Labs around the world choose Borosilicate glass for harsh lab conditions, because of its properties that resist shattering under sudden and rapid changes in temperature.
The Essentials: Lab Glassware Glossary
Lab glassware comes in many varieties: in all shapes and sizes, and for all sorts of purposes. Here’s a breakdown of some of the essentials (and why you want them on your shelves):
1. PYREX® Glass Beakers
Chances are, you’re no stranger to beakers. These cylinder-shaped glass containers are a staple in any lab. Beakers have a flat bottom and a small spout for pouring. Most labs are stocked with a variety of sizes, and use beakers mixing, heating and stirring liquids (which is why mechanical and thermal resistant options are so essential). PYREX® glass beakers made with borosilicate glass allow resistance to extreme temperature changes, making them safer to use.
The Most Popular PYREX® Glass Beakers
What makes them great:
- Uniform wall thickness for shock resistance and strength
- Double scale on 250 mL to 4000 mL sizes
- An extra-large marking spot
- Strengthened rim and pour spout
- Graduated in of ±5% capacity
What makes them great:
- Best mechanical strength in the industry to tolerate harsh environments (like mechanized washing)
- Designed for chemical and thermal resistance
- Extra large marking spot for easy identification
- Convenient, with spout and double graduated metric scale
2. PYREX® Media Bottle
Available in an assortment of sizes, media bottles are another lab essential. They are used for mixing, storing or transporting culture media, chemicals and solvents. A PYREX® media bottle is safer, easier to handle, more efficient to store and is designed with superior chemical resistance.
The Most Popular Media Bottle
What makes them great:
- Chemical resistant
- Graduated for easy dispensing and storage
- Autoclavable to 121°C
- Feature clear polypropylene, drip-free pouring rings
What makes them great:
- Heavy duty options, manufactured from borosilicate glass for chemical & thermal resistance
- Square bottles are easier to handle and store (requiring 13-20% less shelf space)
- Autoclavable
- Drip-free pouring ring
- Liner-less
- Threaded polypropylene plug seal cap
3. PYREX® Erlenmeyer Flasks
Erlemeyer flasks have a different shape than beakers, with a narrow neck over a conical shaped body and a flat bottom. They typically have measurement marks along the side. The cone shape helps reduce losses from evaporation, and helps prevent spills while stirring liquid. They are typically used to mix and transport chemicals, or store waste, and PYREX® Erlenmeyers are manufactured with uniform wall thickness and borosilicate glass for a safer, more durable piece of equipment.
The Most Popular PYREX® Erlenmeyer Flasks
What makes them great:
- Manufactured from borosilicate glass with uniform wall thickness, to offer balance between mechanical strength and thermal shock resistance
- Impact-resistant, black phenolic screw caps feature cemented-in, inert white rubber liners that withstand steam sterilization
- Suitable for use as shaker flasks and for mixing, media prep and storage
What makes them great:
- This starter pack is designed for the low volume user
- The pack contains five sizes and comes in a partitioned carton
- Each of the flasks is designed with heavy duty rims to reduce chipping
- Flasks have approximate graduations marks
- Uniform wall thickness provides proper balance between mechanical strength and thermal shock resistance.
- Flasks are reusable and contain one of five standard sizes: 50mL, 125mL, 250mL 500 mL, 1L
Good quality glassware vs. bad quality glassware: How do I know the difference?
Glassware. The good, the bad, and the breakable.
It’s intuitive that the quality of glassware you need depends on what you’re using it for. That’s why laboratories working with high temperature samples don’t use the wine glass in your cupboard.
Key factors to keep in mind when purchasing your laboratory glassware include:
- mechanical resistance
- chemical resistance
- thermal shock resistance
Opting for cheap, poorly manufactured glassware can have expensive and dangerous consequences. The differences between poorly made options and precision lab tools include:
- The glassware’s ability to resist extreme temperature changes and avoid shattering from thermal shock
- The glassware’s resistance to mechanical shock. Poorly manufactured glassware is often built with thinner, more walls, and more susceptible to breakage.
- Additionally, small imperfections in the glass may not even be visible to the naked eye, but if the glass hasn’t been produced or annealed properly, they are far more likely to fracture during use.
Investing in quality glassware is the smart, and the safe choice. And PYREX® has been synonymous with ‘good glassware’ in labs for over a century.
PYREX® lab glassware provides:
- Exceptional strength and stability, with glass designed to endure even the toughest laboratory conditions
- Brilliant transparency for clear viewing
- Superior resistance to chemicals, contaminants, and drastic changes in temperature
PYREX® lab glassware is built to withstand even the most demanding laboratory environments. It’s the ideal option for working in a wide range of temperatures and conditions. It has a very high resistance to chemical attack from water, acids, salt solutions, halogens, and organic solvents.
And with its well researched and documented thermal and chemical resistance properties, PYREX® continues to be a trusted tool for scientists across the globe.
And PYREX®’s excellent thermal properties at high and lower temperatures sets it apart from the rest. It’s built to experience lower levels of expansion and contraction at extreme temperature change, compared to other glass types.
A lot of this boils down to safety. When you’re dealing with harsh chemicals and conditions, you want precision tools you can rely on. That’s why PYREX® has been an indispensable partner for chemists, biologists, and research scientists for more than 100 years
Take a look at this PYREX® lab glassware