Laboratory Culture Tubes for Culture Medium Filling and Microbial Culture

Laboratory culture tubes are commonly used for culture medium dispensing, microbial culture, biological sample handling, and routine experimental testing. Depending on the specific application, glass culture tubes may also be referred to as laboratory glass test tubes or sample tubes.

Culture tubes can be made of glass or plastic materials and are available in various outer diameters, lengths, wall thicknesses, bottom structures, and sealing methods. Certain autoclave-compatible models, when fitted with appropriate caps or stoppers, can withstand sterilization at 121 °C and 15 psi saturated steam, suitable for culture medium preparation, sterilization, and microbial cultivation.

Six laboratory culture tubes with different solutions on the test tube rack.

GTT-01: Laboratory culture tubes

Types

Table 1: Types of Laboratory Culture Tubes
Category	Available Types	Main Characteristics and Applications
Glass Material	Borosilicate Glass	Good heat shock resistance and chemical resistance, suitable for models requiring heating or autoclaving
	Soda-lime Glass	Economical and practical, suitable for routine experiments and sample handling
	Quartz Glass	Good high temperature and chemical resistance, suitable for special experiments and custom applications
Plastic Material	Polypropylene (PP)	Lightweight, impact resistant, good chemical resistance, some models suitable for autoclaving
Plastic Material	Polystyrene (PS)	Relatively high transparency, allowing easy observation of samples, suitable for disposable experimental operations, generally not used for high-pressure steam sterilization
Bottom Structure	Flat Bottom	Can stand independently, suitable for culture medium filling, sample observation, and temporary storage
Bottom Structure	Round Bottom	Facilitates liquid mixing, heating, and sample recovery, usually used with a test tube rack
Tube Opening	Flat Mouth	Can be paired with cork stopper, plastic cap, rubber stopper, or silicone stopper, offering flexible sealing options
Tube Opening	Screw Mouth	Can be paired with plastic or aluminum screw caps, helping reduce leakage, contamination, and moisture evaporation
Sealing Methods	Cork Stopper, Plastic Cap, Quartz Stopper, Rubber Stopper, Silicone Stopper, Plastic Screw Cap, Aluminum Screw Cap	Selectable according to sealing, ventilation, temperature resistance, and sample compatibility requirements

Three laboratory glass culture tubes with cork stoppers and round bottom on the black background.

LCT-02: Laboratory glass culture tubes

Three laboratory plastic culture tubes with blue color plastic stoppers on the black background.

LCT-03: Laboratory plastic culture tubes

Two laboratory culture tubes with flat bottom on the black background.

LCT-04: Laboratory culture tubes with flat bottom

Two laboratory culture tubes with round bottom on the black background.

LCT-05: Laboratory culture tubes with round bottom

Two laboratory culture tubes with flat top on the black background.

LCT-06: Laboratory culture tubes with flat top

Two laboratory culture tubes with screw top on the black background.

LCT-07: Laboratory culture tubes with screw top

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with cone shape cork stopper on the black background.

LCT-08: Laboratory culture tubes with cone shape cork stopper

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with T-shape cork stopper on the black background.

LCT-09: Laboratory culture tubes with T-shape cork stopper

A closed and an opened plastic laboratory culture tube with plastic stopper on the black background.

LCT-10: Laboratory culture tubes with plastic stopper

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with quartz stopper on the black background.

LCT-11: Laboratory culture tubes with quartz stopper

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with rubber stopper on the black background.

LCT-12: Laboratory culture tubes with rubber stopper

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with silicone stopper on the black background.

LCT-13: Laboratory culture tubes with silicone stopper

A closed and an opened laboratory culture tube with black color plastic screw stopper on the black background.

LCT-14: Laboratory culture tubes with plastic screw stopper

A closed and an opened glass test tube with aluminum screw stopper on the black background.

LCT-15: Laboratory culture tubes with aluminum screw stopper

Specifications

Material: Borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, quartz glass, PP or PS
Outer diameter: 8–30 mm
Length: 75–200 mm
Wall thickness: 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, or custom
Bottom structure: Flat bottom or round bottom
Tube mouth structure: Flat mouth or screw mouth
Sealing method: Tube stopper or screw cap
Graduation: Customizable upon request
Size and packaging: Customizable upon request

Table 2: Common specifications of Laboratory Culture Tubes
Model	Outer Diameter (mm)	Length (mm)
LCT-01	8	100
LCT-02	10	100
LCT-03	10	75
LCT-04	12	75
LCT-05	12	100
LCT-06	13	100
LCT-07	13	75
LCT-08	14	100
LCT-09	15	100
LCT-10	15	150
LCT-11	15	180
LCT-12	16	100
LCT-13	18	150
LCT-14	18	180
LCT-15	20	150
LCT-16	20	200
LCT-17	25	200
LCT-18	30	200

Feature

Good temperature resistance. Borosilicate glass and some PP culture tubes suitable for autoclaving can withstand high-pressure steam sterilization at 121 °C and 15 psi when used with appropriate sealing parts.
The tube body is transparent and easy to observe. The transparent tube wall facilitates checking the status of the culture medium, liquid changes, precipitates, and microbial growth.
Stable tube dimensions. Tube diameter, length, wall thickness, and tube mouth structure can be customized as required to ensure compatibility with the test tube rack, filling equipment, tube caps, and other accessories.
Good sealing adaptability. The tube mouth can fit different stoppers or screw caps to meet various needs such as sealing, ventilation, leak prevention, and reducing moisture evaporation.
Balancing strength and ease of use. Glass or plastic materials can be selected based on actual needs to match transparency, heat resistance, impact resistance, and disposability.
Supports various customizations. Dimensions, wall thickness, graduation, writing area, printing, and packaging methods can be tailored according to filling volume, experimental processes, and packaging requirements.

Applications

Preparation and aliquoting of Culture Medium. For filling, aliquoting, and sterilizing liquid Culture Medium, slant Culture Medium, and deep Culture Medium.
Microbial culture and identification. For culturing, propagating, observing, and identifying bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.
Laboratory sample handling. Used for collection, mixing, reaction, and temporary storage of biological or chemical samples.
Routine laboratory tests. Used for biological research, microbial detection, and other routine laboratory operations.
Culture Medium production support. Used for tube filling, sealing, sterilization, and final product preparation during Culture Medium production.

A man is dripping the liquid into the laboratory culture tube.

LCT-16: Laboratory culture tubes used in laboratory experiment.

Several laboratory culture tube with different solvents on the test tube racks.

LCT-17: Laboratory culture tubes can be used for solvent temporary storage.