Lab Glassware

If you have been to a laboratory even as a student at school, you will remember the colored and clear glass vials that are a signature of any laboratory and it is especially so, if the laboratory deals in chemistry or biology. A major part of any laboratory’s equipment is classified as glassware although it has been seen many a time that the equipment is not made of glass.

Glassware is highly critical for any laboratory due to the properties of the material itself. Lab glassware comes in various shapes, sizes and colors. Despite the form glass is highly preferred in laboratories. Let us see the advantages of glass that make is preferable over a million other materials available:

1. Transparent – A glass container is transparent and the results of any experiment can be seen right through without the risk of exposure.
2. Inert – Glass is relatively inert and thus it does not react with most chemicals and compounds that it comes in touch with.
3. Hardness – Although brittle, glass is one of the hardest substances found on the planet and it is durable and is also highly resistive to heat, making it ideal for laboratory use.

Glass also comes in various qualities and is used for various experiments as per needs. Quartz glass for example is known for its purity and offers a high level of visibility compared to other varieties of glass. Each of the lab glassware manufacturers uses a unique variety of glass for manufacturing thousands of varieties of laboratory glassware.

In addition to common glassware that we find – test tubes, Petri dishes, flasks, eye droppers, jars etc lab glassware also comes in customized shapes and sizes that can be ordered from the manufacturers with proper specification. In fact, the specification of glass itself may be different to suit various experiments. The expertise required to create glass in specific shapes and sizes if not everyone’s domain and is limited to a very few manufacturers.

Lab glassware comes in many shapes and sizes that can be connected (with glass connectors made for the purpose) to each other and made into a specific piece of equipment (just like a jigsaw puzzle) depending on the usage and experiments conducted. So, the next time you see a mad scientist in your favorite movie with all the weird looking lab glassware around him, you can safely assume that he could not fit them together properlyJ.

Now let us take a look at the most famous of the lab glassware manufacturers and what they specialize in:

Pyrex

Pyrex is one of the most renowned manufacturers of lab glassware and many scientists tend to sue glassware made by Pyrex only. Pyrex manufactures over 800 quality products from its famous borosilicate glass and product list includes bottles, test tubes and flasks made to international standards.

Quickfit

Quickfit is a top-of-the –line brand name in its niche. The best achievement of this company to date is the pioneering interchangeable joints made from ground glass. The quality of these joints is so good and the finish so accurate that one can use them without really thinking about leaks and performance issues. With a product range of over 1200 varieties, Quickfit offers joints for any conceivable glassware assembly.

MBL

Specializing in volumetric lab glassware, MBL manufactures over 500 quality products making it the most versatile in volumetric lab glassware.

Azlon

Azlon manufactures a wide range of plastic labware that are reusable. With a range of over 1200 unique products, Azlon is a big name in washbottles, bottles, aspirators, jugs and measuring cylinders.

A laboratory would always be incomplete without the products from the above mentioned brands. In fact, it will be inconceivable.