Microbiological incubators are laboratory equipment used to maintain desired temperature and humidity for the growth of organisms. Depending on their working principle, these incubators can be hot air, water bath, and oven-type. In addition, different models have different features, such as controlling the temperature automatically or including door locks.
Users may use a microbiological incubator for the easy multiplication of viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Microbiological incubators are available in different sizes to fit different types of organisms. Understanding the features of a specific model will determine its usage in daily work in laboratories.
What are Microbiological Incubators?
Microbiological Incubators, in simple words, help microbiologists to maintain a specific temperature and humidity for their work. These incubators help them grow organisms in a controlled environment and help make cultural media for them.
The microbiological incubator must be placed in a dry area with no moisture content or water leakage. Microbiological incubators are available in different forms as per their working principle as hot air type, water bath type, or oven-type. However, the most common and popular ones are oven-type and water bath type.
Features:
Different incubators have different features, such as controlling the temperature automatically or door locks. Some of the features that make a machine appropriate for a specific usage are,
- It should include door locks, which will help heat and cool the incubator.
- The price should be reasonable so people can purchase it without compromising its quality.
The working principle of Microbiological Incubators is quite simple; however, there are various types of them depending on their working principle. For example, Oven type incubators are those where models which are close to ovens where the temperature and humidity are controlled under a controlled level.
Types of Microbiological Incubators:
The different types of incubators available on numerous reliable platforms like Global Lab Supply are:
- Hot air incubator: This type of incubator works on hot air to cool down the air inside and maintain the temperature at the desired level. The working principle of hot air incubation is that when a heater creates hot air by burning gas, a fan moves it into a space where microorganisms will grow. These incubators are available in different sizes depending on the user’s requirement.
- Water bath incubator: This incubator uses liquid to cool down the air inside and maintain the temperature at a specific level. The working principle of a water bath incubator is hot water is used to lower the temperature inside, where organisms will grow.
- Oven-type incubators: These models are controlled by a thermometer which tells them where users should keep the temperature and humidity. The working principle of these types of incubators is similar to that of the water-bath type, where microorganisms will grow under controlled temperature and humidity levels.
- Automatic Incubators: These types are those where there is no control over the temperature or humidity level.
Working principles:
- Hot air incubators: It has no door, just a fan to circulate hot air with a heater which heats the air inside and allows it to pass through. The temperature inside is regulated by a thermostat, which will control the temperature at the desired level. There are also temperature sensors that can tell how much temperature has already been reached by sending signals to the thermostat so that it can adjust for more heat or less heat depending on the requirements.
- Water bath incubators: These incubators are based on the principle that hot water can lower the temperature and allows organisms to grow. It is possible because when hot water enters through a tray, it creates a vapor that is moved by a fan and cools down the whole incubator.
- Oven-type incubators: These are the most common models of all that are available in the market. They are popular because they provide great flexibility to researchers, and they can take different sizes per their requirements. In addition, oven-type incubators have many advantages other than being easy and convenient to use; these models can control humidity, not just temperature, and retain heat inside for a longer time than other types of incubators.
- Automatic incubators are also available in different forms, depending on their working principle. For example, automatic water bath type incubators work similarly to that water bath type incubators, where temperature and humidity will be controlled automatically, and no manual control is required.
Conclusion:
It is clear from the features and working principles of different models of incubators that different types and types can be chosen as per their preference since each model has its advantages. However, it is recommended to choose Microbiological Incubators by Global Lab Supply the right one according to the requirement because all of them have advantages and disadvantages in general. Therefore, one should choose an incubator that fulfills all his requirements.
