Laboratory shakers, also known as mixers, are laboratory products used in the chemistry and biology sectors to mix liquids and prepare solutions and suspensions. These equipments create a movement between liquids or between liquids and solids in order to achieve processes of mixing, suspension, dispersion, homogenization, heat transfer, etc. At present, stirring systems (agitators) are used in all laboratories, be they chemistry, biology, among others.
What is its history?
Before the automated shaker, scientists had to perform this process manually, in order to create chemical reactions and other processes. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the first automated laboratory shakers began to facilitate this task to the laboratory team, thus being able to achieve a prolonged and controlled shaking.
In 1917 the first hot plate shakers was patented and it operated with stationary electromagnets built into a hot plate base. By 1940, the bar magnet used to stir solutions became obsolete, when it was discovered that the magnet reacted with the chemicals in the solution, altering the reactions. To overcome this, the coated magnetic stir bar was created, which was chemically inert.
The first magnetic shakers appeared in 1950 and the first vortex mixer would be patented in 1959. From 1990 to the present, companies would dedicate themselves fully to perfecting shakers designs, developing microprocessors that would make mixing equipment more accurate. agitation and improving their productivity, by being able to mix a greater number of units in a single equipment and at the same time.
Types of laboratory shakers
If you are thinking about what type of shaker you need for your laboratory, below, you will find a list of all those that are currently available on the market, so that you can choose the one that best suits your type of work, and each of them. has specific functions and characteristics:
Orbital shakers
The orbital shaker is a medical equipment used in laboratories, clinics and others; for mixing, homogenizing and / or preparing combinations of substances. There is a great variety of presentations of these teams and they depend mostly on their size and if their speed is fixed or adjustable. This equipment consists of a time control which can be adjusted according to the need, in the same way some have a speed control which can be adjusted as required. In the upper part there is a platform where the sample holders are placed, which has a non-slip material.
Linear shakers
For smooth movement or intensive shaking in continuous operation. The agitators There is a great variety of possible agitation movements for the most diverse applications. Linear stirrers are used in laboratories, incubation rooms and temperature control rooms at room temperatures between 10 and 60 ° C to shake bottles, test tubes or separatory funnels.
3D laboratory shakers
It allows to mix substances in all dimensions. They generally have a platform that traces smooth circular movements depending on the configuration. Of great applicability in the fields of biology.
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