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Laboratory shakers are a key piece of equipment in any biological laboratory. Their versatility enables scientists to easily culture, monitor and scale up a range of experiments including biofuel research and microbiological cultures. When buying a new biological shaker, it’s important to consider the experiments and applications you want to use it for and the people using it. The following guide highlights seven key matters to consider when choosing the right shaker for your laboratory.

1) Orbit size

The diameter of the orbit of your shaker is an important factor when considering different shakers; different orbit sizes suit different culturing techniques and applications.

Aeration and circulation of the growth medium in your experiment is directly affected by the orbit size, so maximise your culturing efficiency by choosing the best orbit size for your application.

Most shakers are available in a 2.5cm and 5.1cm orbit. In general, a 2.5 cm orbit is a standard option for most applications, but higher volume experiments e.g. >2 litres, or shear sensitive cells may benefit from a larger diameter orbit.

2) Shaking

Oxygenation of the cultures also depends on the speed of the agitation. By increasing the agitation speed, the surface area of the liquid increases by washing against the side of the flask, enabling better aeration of the culture if done at an optimal speed.

3) Temperature control

Biological culturing is a precise and temperamental process; sudden changes in temperature can massively affect your culture and so incorporating good temperature control is an important factor to consider in instrument selection.

Reproducibility and consistency are crucial when culturing, so it’s also important to consider the uniformity of any heating/cooling across the whole of your shaker.