How it’s made: ULT Storage Racks

With the ever increasing need to store samples in extreme conditions, Micronic conducted research on the development of an optimized sample rack for storage in ultra-low temperature environments. After some time the next generation Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Rack was born. But what material is it made from? And what other properties does this ULT Rack have? Read on and find out.

By utilizing almost 40 years of experience in developing and manufacturing sample storage solutions, Micronic developed a complete range of 15 ULT Racks including 96-well, 48-well, and 24-well formats. The Micronic ULT Racks are manufactured from virgin Polycarbonate (PC). On the basis of research on all kinds of materials, it was found that PC has excellent properties for low temperature conditions, which makes the racks ideal for long term use in automated cryogenic storage facilities. The stiffness of the PC material in combination with the extremely strong design of the ULT Racks minimizes deformation due to temperature changes. Compared to other storage racks in the market, the ULT Racks have many unique features including: the “icebreaker” cover lock mechanism; cover prints indicating rack and tube type; rack orientation marks; and a highly transparent cover which enables easy visual checking of the enclosed samples.

The Micronic ULT Racks are based on the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (ANSI/SLAS) standards for sample storage racks making them compatible with automated storage and handling systems which are increasingly found in biorepositories, compound management and other laboratory facilities. Furthermore, the racks provide complete traceability through the laser-etched alphanumeric visual location aids on top of the racks and a unique laser-etched 1D barcode on the side of the racks. The 1D barcode can be customized on request. With an open bottom design, the ULT Rack assures that the samples can defrost quickly. In addition, the ULT Racks have an outstanding Twist-Lock design, which prevents tubes form turning during screw (de)capping.

Micronic sample storage labware is precision manufactured and assembled in house under NEN-EN ISO 1466-1 standard Class 7 clean room conditions. The Micronic ULT Racks comply with the highest injection molding standards and are free of any detectable RNase or DNase contamination.