Lipaemia, or gross elevations of serum/plasma lipoproteins, can be instantly recognised by turbidity in the sample which can cause interference in some analytical methodologies using photometric measurement principles.
Removal of lipaemia can be difficult and complicated by conventional methods. LipoClear tubes, however, offer a quick, simple and safe solution for removing lipaemia without affecting the measurement of other major analytes including enzymes.
Using LipoClear Tubes
LipoClear Tubes are 1.5ml microcentrifuge tubes pre-filled with the LipoClear reagent. LipoClear is a convenient, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic liquid polymer reagent which clears lipaemic serum or plasma after mixing and centrifugation. Please see instructions for use for *plasma limitations.
Simple Procedure
The simple procedure involves pipetting 0.5ml of sample into a LipoClear Tube, mixing and leaving for 5 minutes at room temperature, and then centrifuging. Ideally, centrifuges spinning at 10,000G or more can be used and will allow separation and clearing in 2 minutes. Low-speed centrifuge, for example, 2000G will need 20 minutes for spinning LipoClear Tubes.
After centrifuging, the cleared sample must be removed for analysis. However, please note that all results must be multiplied by 1.2 to compensate for the sample dilution. This is a refrigerated product and is supplied in pack sizes of 10 or 40 1.5ml microcentrifuge tubes.
Laboratory transport swabs for sample collection, preservation and transport prior to culture for bacteria and fungi. We supply swabs containing Amies Transport Medium with, or without Charcoal in either a Standard tip or Mini-tip size. This transport medium is useful for preserving fastidious organisms (e.g. C.E.M. organism, Campylobacter spp.) in transit to the laboratory prior to culture. The charcoal additive is particularly useful in neutralising any toxic metabolic compounds produced by bacterial growth.
Plain Swabs – Standard & Mini-tip
(Without Transport Medium)
We also supply PLAIN swabs without transport medium. Offering both Standard (rayon tip) and Mini-tip (cotton tip) with a plasticised stick and supplied in individual polypropylene tubes. The rayon/cotton tip is non-toxic to most micro-organisms and gives superior performance. In addition, we also supply plating swabs, sterilized with wooden sticks for general laboratory applications.
Finally, all of our swabs are available in convenient pack sizes.
Standard S.G. or Made to your Specific Requirements
(Sodium Nitrate & Zinc Sulphate)
Livestock & Companion Animals – Parasitology
Examination of faeces from livestock and companion animals for parasite eggs and oocysts is an important diagnostic procedure in most veterinary practices and laboratories. One of the most common techniques uses the concept of floating parasite eggs to the surface of a special solution in order to be detected under the microscope.
Specific Gravity
Basically, this is achieved by increasing the density or specific gravity (S.G.) by dissolving certain salts in water. The S.G. has to be optimised in order to allow parasite eggs to float and faecal debris to sink. It is generally recognised that the S.G. of faecal flotation solutions should be within the range 1.18 to 1.27 to detect most (but not all) ova.
We offer ready-made faecal flotation solution of either Sodium Nitrate or Zinc Sulphate both of S.G. of 1.200. These solutions are the most popular and recommended for general use. We offer both solutions to accommodate personal choice, although we find that our Sodium Nitrate Solution has less shrinkage effect on Giardia Cysts. However, we can make solutions of different S.G. values to personal order. These solutions are ideal for use with our ‘OvaTube‘ and McMaster slides.
Microhaematocrit (Mhct) or Packed Cell Volume (PCV) tests require the use of good quality capillary tubes manufactured with good quality glass. Capillary tubes are either plain or pre-coated with heparin, and are commonly used to extract small blood samples directly from the vein by using a Surgicutt lancet. Our centrifuge consumables range includes both 40mm and 75mm capillary tubes. This type of tube is not only used for Packed Cell Volume tests, but also the extremely useful function of transporting small volumes of sample to other devices, such as microscope slides for making blood smears and Petri dishes for other tests.
Why Is The Quality Of Capillary Tubes So Important?
It is very important that capillary tubes are manufactured correctly using good quality material with a consistent bore diameter. Furthermore, the thickness of the wall must not only be strong enough to withstand centrifugal G-forces of up to 10,000 RMP but also thin enough to allow easy viewing of the reading. Finally, a good quality capillary tube should not break when pushed down into the sealant tray, and neither should the sealant plug become detached from the tube. See our Top Tips below.
Centrifuge Consumables Product Range
The length of your capillary tubes will depend on the make of your centrifuge. We supply the Marienfeld Superior Glass brand of 75mm capillary tubes which fit our VetSpin Duo centrifuge as well as other standard size centrifuges such as Hawksley and Centurion. Our StatSpin 40mm capillary tubes fit our VetSpin Micro range of benchtop mini centrifuges as well as the StatSpin VT. Our full range of centrifuge consumables and accessories includes quality sealant trays; microcentrifuge tubes, blood collection tubes; readers and our popular Vet-Tube racks (available in a range of bright colours) to hold your samples.
We supply a wide range of non-evacuated, mainly plastic blood collection tubes which are ideal for veterinary practices who are sampling companion animals using a syringe and needle.
These tubes cover a fill volume range from 0.5ml up to 2ml and are pre-filled with either different anticoagulants or clotting enhancement agents. Some of the range is pre-filled with special separation gel which forms a barrier between serum or plasma and cellular layers after centrifugation.
We offer a large range of screw-top, push-top and plug-top blood collection tubes along with 5ml plastic and glass bottles (no anticoagulant).
The Vet-Tube® Range
(2ml Tubes with standard 1.3ml or 1.1ml fill for GEL)
Vet-Tube® is our premium range of blood collection tubes and are 2.0ml (full volume) in size. They are made from tough polypropylene and consist of 4 parts; Firstly, a strong colour-coded plastic screw-top, a rubber gasket inside the top making it leak-proof, a strong polypropylene body and lastly a small plastic doughnut-shaped ring (inside the tube). This doughnut generally aids blood mixing but particularly aids clot enhancement in serum tubes.
Vet-Tube PG, Li Heparin (plasma) + GEL – Green Top
Vet-Tube S, Plain (serum) – Clear Top
Vet-Tube SG, Plain (serum) + GEL – Brown Top
(screw-top for centrifuging)
The full range of Vet-Tube® covers the anticoagulants Potassium EDTA (liquid) and Lithium Heparin (dried). We also supply Vet-Tubes for serum (inert clotting agent) with and without separation gel, and for plasma (Lithium Heparin) with and without separation gel.
The different types of tubes have colour-coded tops and labels. The label is also specially designed for vets as it has spaces to record; the animal’s name, species, owner’s name, tests required and the date sampled. Fill volumes are typically 1.3ml but for Vet-Tube® with separation gel, the fill volume is 1.1ml.
(Please note that our EDTA Vet-Tube® is filled with liquid EDTA which allows it to be dissolved much faster than dry EDTA and reduces the incidence of micro-clots in samples)
Vet-Tubes are ideal for centrifuging small volumes of blood at high speeds/G-force and for secure sample transport to the laboratory. In particular, we recommend Vet-Tube® for use in our VetSpin Micro and VetSpin Duo microcentrifuges.
Our Vet-Tube® range is available directly from us or through your veterinary wholesaler.
The Vetlab Range
(2ml Tubes with standard 1.3ml or 1.1ml fill for GEL)
These tubes are very similar to Vet-Tube® in almost every way except that they are a less expensive option. The only other difference is that they have no mixing ring inside them and the EDTA version is pre-filled with dried EDTA rather than liquid EDTA. The label is also specially designed for vets as it has spaces to record; the animal’s name, species, owner’s name, tests required and the date sampled. Fill volumes are typically 1.3ml but for Vetlab with separation gel, the fill volume is 1.1ml. Our Vetlab range is also recommended for use in our range of centrifuges.
Vetlab LH, Li Heparin (plasma) – Orange Top
Vetlab ZT, Plain (serum) – White Top
Vetlab ZT, Plain (serum) + GEL – Brown Top
Vetlab KE, EDTA – Pink Top
(screw-top for centrifuging)
Our Vetlab range of blood collection tubes is only available directly from us and not from your wholesaler.
Other Sample Collection Tubes
We also supply other types of sample tubes which are detailed in our Price List Tab or our Catalogue. Our range includes; Fluoride Oxalate (yellow top), Sodium Citrate (mauve top), EDTA (pink top), Lithium Heparin (orange top) and Plain (white top) with no anticoagulant. Our fill volumes range from 0.5ml up to 2ml and can be; screw-top (for centrifuging) plug-top or push-top depending on your requirements.
For sample tubes that may have shorter expiry dates and are less frequently used, for example, Flouride Oxalate and Sodium Citrate blood collection tubes, we offer smaller bag sizes of 25 tubes to avoid wastage.
Flouride Oxalate 2ml, 1.3ml Fill – Yellow Top, available in small bags of 25 Tubes
Sodium Citrate 2ml, 1.3ml Fill – Mauve Top, available in small bags of 25 Tubes
Our microcentrifuge (1.5ml) tubes with integral push-top and conical bottom can also be referred to as either eppendorf or reaction tubes. This type of tube is useful for collecting serum/plasma samples from gel tubes and then storing them in the fridge or freezer. In addition, they are also ideal for centrifuging small volumes of urine for the microscopic examination of urinary sediment. Finally, we also supply a large 15ml volume conical bottom centrifuge tube for larger samples.
LipoClear tubes which are identical in size and shape to a 1.5ml microcentrifuge tube are pre-filled with LipoClear. These special tubes are used for clearing lipaemic samples which can interfere with a large number of clinical chemistry tests. We supply LipoClear in quantities of 10 or 40 pre-filled tubes.
Vet-Tube Rack
Ideal for Holding Blood Collection Tubes and Microcentrifuge Tubes. This versatile storage rack can hold a combination of tubes, which makes it ideal when performing sequencing procedures or holding samples prior to processing.
The Vet-Tube rack has a dual conformation. On one side it takes 32 x 1.5ml – 2.0ml tubes (including our Vet-Tubes, Vetlab Tubes, Microcentrifuge tubes and 11mm test tubes) plus 8 x 0.5ml tubes. When reversed it accommodates 32 x 0.5ml tubes and 8 larger tubes. It is made from autoclavable plastic and comes complete with moulded indexing and a clear lift-off lid to protect your samples.
The Vet-Tube Rack comes in 5 different colours – blue, orange, pink, yellow and green.
Glass or Plastic Screw Top Plain 5ml Bottles
These 5ml screw-top glasses or plastic bottles with no anticoagulant are used for collecting a variety of samples including:
• Urine and other body fluids
• Hair and skin scrapes
We can supply most types of blood collection tubes and if you can’t find what you are looking for then please contact us and we will be delighted to help. Telephone: 01798 874567
We supply a large range of laboratory sample containers for transportation, specimen storage and general use in the laboratory. Our universal containers are manufactured from tough polypropylene materials and are supplied with leak-proof screw-top lids. All of our containers are labelled for easy identification and are CE marked.
If you require a different or special type of sample container that you cannot find in our range, please contact us and we will do our very best to find the right product for you.
Our specimen containers can be used for collecting urine and faeces samples from animals for analysis as well as, body tissue along with various other samples for laboratory testing. In addition, our range also includes Bijou Vials which are ideal for research and small samples. Furthermore, we offer all of our product range in small pack sizes of 10, right up to larger pack sizes of 400 to suit both small and large veterinary practices and laboratories.
One of our most popular sizes is the Sterilin® brand of 30ml white-top specimen containers which are ideal for urine collection as well as many other samples. CE marked and labelled, we offer small packs of 10, packs of 100 and large quantities of 400.
30ml Sample Containers with Spoon (faeces collection)
Our blue-top 30ml universal containers contain a spoon and are used for the collection of faeces samples. These containers are CE marked, sterile, labelled and available in pack sizes of 10, 100 and 400.
Included in our range, we supply a 30ml red-top boric acid collection container for urine. Used for urine microscopy and culture these containers contain boric acid powder as a preservative. Boric acid holds the bacterial population steady for 50 – 95 hours, and other cellular components remain intact. Boric acid containers should only be used if the urine sample cannot be analysed within 4 hours after collection and should only be used for routine microbiology urine analyses.
Boric acid should never be used for Chlamydia testing, biochemistry tests and urine dip-stick tests. Using a plain sterile universal container is ideal for urine without preservative. It is important to remember that if you are sending urine samples to an outside laboratory, always check their sample requirements. Our Boric acid containers both 30ml and 5ml bijou vials are also supplied in small pack sizes of 10 and larger pack sizes of 100. Labelled and CE marked.
60ml Sample Containers
Also available are 60ml specimen containers supplied with a white-top, label, CE marked and sterile. Ideal for larger samples or specimens and can be purchased in quantities of 10, 100 and 300 units.
100ml & 250ml Sample Containers
These are ideal for larger samples where a more robust container is needed. Our 100ml and 250ml specimen containers are supplied with a metal cap and a flow seal inert liner screw-cap. Sterile, labelled and CE marked these large sample containers are supplied in convenient pack sizes of 10, 100 and 200.
Microscope Consumables – Top Quality & Great Value
Vetlab Supplies offer the full range of microscope consumables; including microscope slides, coverslips, slide mailers, lens cleaning tissues, histoclear, and immersion oil. We also supply a variety of microscope bulbs and slide storage boxes. If there are any products that you cannot see on our price list, please contact us, and we will do our very best to source them for you.
Microscope Slides, Plain & Frosted
We supply a range of different quality microscope slides of varying quality to suit personal preferences and budgets.
Our Marienfeld Superior Glass slides which are considered to be top of the range for quality and are supplied in both plain and twin frosted (76mm x 26mm).
The Vetlab Value Microscope Slides are an excellent mid-range quality and priced accordingly. The slides are pre-cleaned, 1mm-1.2mm thick with polished edges and clipped corners and are also available in both plain and twin frosted (76mm x 25.4mm).
Lens cleaning tissues are essential for cleaning microscope lenses. We supply the well-known Whatman brand of lens tissues as well as our Premiere value brand.
Microscope Coverslips, Postage and Storage Boxes
We supply a full range of slide holders which include; 6-slot, 5-slot and 2-slot postage mailers as well as a great value storage box, which holds up to 100 slides. Our coverslips are manufactured by Marienfeld or Knittel and are supplied in a variety of sizes which include; the popular 22 x 22 size supplied in boxes of 200, as well as the 22 x 40 size supplied in boxes of 100.
Microscope Dust Cover
As part of our microscope consumables range, we also supply Nikon Microscope Dust Covers which will fit most microscopes. Remember it is essential for maintaining good optical performance to always keep your microscope covered when not in use.
The Vetlab range of general laboratory consumables includes biohazard bags, lint-free tissues and other day-to-day laboratory essentials. If there are any products that are not shown on our price list, we will do our very best to source them for you.
Biohazard Specimen Bags
Each Biohazard Bag is printed with the biohazard symbol and has a separate document pouch for documentation related to the sample, keeping it safe and easily accessible without having to open the pouch where the specimen is stored. Our biohazard specimen bags are high-quality resealable bags which are made from strong 200gsm polyethylene materials and as a result, they are designed for safe transportation of specimens along with their documentation.
Size = 6 x 5.5 + 8 inches
Biopsy Cassettes
These high-density acetal polymer biopsy cassettes are specially designed to hold the smallest biopsy specimens for processing, embedding and storage. The cassettes are made of acid and solvent resistant plastic. They have a stay-shut closure lid design and can be used without the need for foam or lens paper. Supplied in small pack sizes of 10 or larger packs of 50.
The CellSafe+ Biopsy Capsule is designed to protect biopsy specimens during processing in use with routine histology cassettes. The CellSafe+ comprises 2 interlocking plastic frames – one slightly smaller than the other – which are linked by a mesh hinge. The frames surround a polyester mesh membrane with a pore size of 220 x 220 microns which will contain the majority of small specimens received for tissue processing.
The CellSafe+ can only be closed in one direction to produce a 3.1mm cavity. The mesh is x-ray transparent and therefore calcium content of fine needle biopsies of breast tissue (FNB Breast Cores) can be analysed without removing the biopsy from the CellSafe+.
Our Plastic Aseptic Inoculation Loops are a small simple tool used by veterinary laboratories and microbiologists investigating an inoculum from a culture of microorganisms. Inoculation loops are used to cultivate microbes on an agar plate transferring the inoculum for streaking and examining.
These inoculations loops are both sterile and aseptic. Aseptic loops are produced using HEPA filtration and from a moulding machine at 200°C and then packed in a sterile environment. This means the sterility assurance level of these loops is 10-3.
Available in 1µl and 10µl our inoculation loops are packaged in micro seal pouches of 20, which means you can keep them sterile for longer. All our loops are blue, 200mm in length, disposable and sold in quantities of 500 and 1000. Other sizes available, please contact us.
Inoculation Loops
Disposable Weigh boats, Small Plastic Bowls
These small plastic bowls or weighing boats are biologically inert and resistant to dilute and weak acids, aqueous solutions, bleaches and alcohols. 100ml fill, 8cm square and 2cm high with a shallow flat bottom to avoid tipping and temperature resistant up to +70 °C. These small plastic bowls are ideal for use in worm egg counts and are supplied in packs of 10.
Weigh Boats
Dropper Bottles
Our clear PVC dropper bottles are ideal for storing and dispensing small amounts of stable or semi-viscous material. This 15ml dropper bottle has a single plug hole and LDPE with a polypropylene screw cap.
Dropper Bottles
Kimberley-Clark Lint Free Medical Tissues
KIMCARE – Professional Wipes For General Laboratory Use
When you need to clean something small or delicate, such as precision veterinary instruments or optics, only ever use a professional medical lint-free wipe. ‘Lint-free’ refers to a material which leaves no trace of residue or fluff after being used. These professional wipes are ideal for cleaning the surfaces of glass microscope slides before use as well as for wiping capillary tubes after sealing. Kimberly-Clark Professional lint-free medical wipes are disposable, biodegradable, delicate task wipes, intended for use in laboratories and industrial settings. Finally, KIMCARE medical wipes are made from 100% recycled tissue paper and contain 80 tissues per box.
Kimcare Lint Free Tissues
Measuring /Mixing Cylinder 50ml with 1ml Blue Graduations
This graduated 50ml measuring /mixing cylinder is supplied with a hexagonal base for better stability. The cylinder has an anti-suction feature which prevents it from sticking to wet surfaces. Manufactured by Azlon, this ultra-clear polypropylene provides enhanced visibility and chemical resistance. The measuring cylinder features 1ml subdivisions, a spout and is extremely durable making it suitable for use in a variety of laboratory applications including worm egg counts. Available in single units.
Test Tubes
Our test tubes are made from polystyrene and are transparent with a round base. Measuring 11mm x 63mm with a fill volume of 2.5ml, they can be centrifuged up to 4,000xg. Stoppers can be purchased separately if required.
Test Tubes
Vet-Tube Rack – Ideal for Holding Blood Collection Tubes and Microcentrifuge Tubes
This versatile storage rack can hold a combination of tubes which, makes it ideal when performing sequencing procedures or holding samples prior to processing.
The Vet-Tube rack has a dual conformation. On one side it takes 32 x 1.5ml – 2.0ml tubes (including our Vet-Tubes, Vetlab Tubes, Microcentrifuge tubes and 11mm test tubes) plus 8 x 0.5ml tubes. When reversed it accommodates 32 x 0.5ml tubes and 8 larger tubes. It is made from autoclavable plastic and comes complete with moulded indexing and a clear lift-off lid to protect your samples.
The Vet-Tube Rack comes in 5 different colours – blue, orange, pink, yellow and green.
Vet Tube Rack
Wash Bottles
The wash bottle is a 250ml polyethylene squeeze bottle with a nozzle, which is used to rinse various pieces of laboratory glassware including test tubes and round bottom flasks. It is sealed with a screw-top lid and, when hand pressure is applied to the bottle, the liquid becomes pressurised and forced through the nozzle into a narrow stream of liquid.
Wash bottles can be filled with a range of laboratory solvents and reagents, which may include distilled water, as well as detergent solutions and rinse solvents. Finally, wash bottles are particularly useful when preparing blood smears as they form part of the preparation protocol for Rapi-Diff staining.
Wash Bottles
Wooden Applicator or Mixing Sticks
Our multi-purpose wooden sticks measure 14cm in length and are ideal for specimen transfer, mixing and other laboratory applications such as drop transfers and spot test sampling. They are Ideal for making blood smears and other general laboratory applications. Supplied in boxes of 1000.
StatSpin 40mm capillary tubes are used for the determination of Haematocrit (Packed Cell Volume – PCV) tests. These capillary tubes are manufactured in high-quality glass and are available either in plain or pre-coated with heparin. The fill volume for these 40mm tubes is 9.4μl.
Capillaries are commonly used to extract small blood samples directly from the vein by using a Surgicutt lancet. Our centrifuge consumable range includes both 75mm and 40mm capillary tubes. This type of tube is not only used for Packed Cell Volume tests, but also the extremely useful function of transporting small volumes of sample to other devices, such as microscope slides for making blood smears and Petri dishes for other tests.
StatSpin Centrifuge Consumables
We also supply StatSpin sealant trays and the StatSpin reader card which is made from tough washable laminated plastic. The reader card has a sliding transparent tube holder to read 40mm capillary tubes by using the sliding per cent haematocrit scale provided on the card.
In addition, we also supply the StatSpin OvaTube for processing faecal samples. The StatSpin OvaTube is the first centrifugation method that is easy and fast without any mess. Just add the sample to the tube and mix with standard flotation fluid. Centrifuge in either a fixed angle or horizontal centrifuge, remove the tube, add a coverslip, and twist. In just a few minutes results are ready to read.
StatSpin Rotors
We offer both rotors for StatSpin VT centrifuge. The RT12, 2-Place Microtube Rotor and the RH12, 12-Place Microhaematocrit Rotor. These rotors are lightweight, precision fabricated and pre-balanced for reliable high-speed performance.
The Urinalysis Reagent Strips (Urine) are firm plastic strips onto which several separate reagent areas are affixed. The test is for the qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of one or more of the following analytes in urine: Ascorbic acid, Glucose, Bilirubin, Ketone (Acetoacetic acid), Specific Gravity, Blood, pH, Protein, Urobilinogen, Nitrite and Leukocytes.
Urinalysis Summary
Urine undergoes many changes during states of disease or dysfunction before blood composition is altered to a significant extent. Urinalysis is a useful procedure as an indicator of health or disease, and as such, is part of routine health screening. The Urinalysis Reagent Strips (Urine) can be used in general evaluation of health, and aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of metabolic or systemic diseases that affect kidney function, endocrine disorders and diseases or disorders of the urinary tract.
