Lysis and Collection Tubes

What are Lysis and Collection Tubes?

Lysis and collection tubes are pre-filled, single-use vessels containing a mechanical or chemical lysis matrix—typically combined with a nucleic acid preservative—that enable simultaneous sample disruption, stabilization, and transport in one container. They are used in DNA extraction, RNA extraction, metagenomics, microbiomics, environmental sampling, and bead-beating workflows for tissue, microbial pellets, swabs, and biological fluids. Bead formats include 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, and 2.0 mm beads to match sample toughness. Choose lysis and collection tubes when your workflow requires homogenization of difficult-to-lyse samples and room-temperature nucleic acid preservation from collection through extraction.

What you will find:

• DNA/RNA stabilization lysis tubes for immediate sample preservation
• Pre-filled bead beating tubes for microbial and tissue disruption
• Swab-based lysis and collection tubes for clinical sampling
• Microbial lysis tubes for bacteria, fungi, and environmental samples
• Ready-to-process tubes for PCR, qPCR, and sequencing workflows
• General-purpose molecular biology lysis and collection systems

How to Choose Lysis and Collection Tubes

Bead Size and Matrix
Bead diameter determines lysis efficiency for your matrix: 0.1 mm beads are suited for bacteria, yeast, and spores; 0.5 mm for most soft tissues and biofilms; 2.0 mm for tough plant and fibrous animal tissue. Select the matrix format that matches your homogenizer's speed and run time.

Preservative Chemistry
Tubes pre-filled with DNA/RNA Shield (Zymo Research) stabilize both DNA and RNA at ambient temperature for up to one month, inactivate infectious agents including SARS-CoV-2, and are compatible with standard purification kits without reagent removal. Tubes with lysis buffer only stabilize for shorter intervals and may require cold-chain transport.

Sample Input Type
Tissue lysis tubes handle 10–100 mg solid tissue; microbial lysis tubes are optimized for 200 µL liquid culture or swab eluate. Using a microbial-format tube for high-mass tissue can clog beads and reduce yield.

Downstream Application
For NGS, single-cell RNA-seq, or RT-PCR, choose RNA-stabilizing tubes (RNase-inhibiting chemistry). For 16S/ITS microbiome work, DNA-stabilized bead-beating tubes are sufficient. Confirm compatibility with your downstream extraction kit before ordering in bulk.

Volume Capacity
Standard lysis tubes hold 0.5–2 mL fill volume. Confirm fill volume against your expected sample input; overfilling reduces lysis efficiency by limiting bead-to-sample contact.

Specifications Context

Lysis and collection tubes pre-filled with DNA/RNA Shield are stabilized at ambient temperature (15–25 °C) for up to 28 days per Zymo Research validation data. Samples rendered non-infectious on contact with the reagent are compatible with standard shipping under IATA Packing Instruction 650 (P650) and UN3373 Biological Substance Category B regulations. Homogenization is performed at ≥4,000 rpm for 30–60 seconds; run time varies by homogenizer model (e.g., Benchmark BeadBug, Qiagen TissueLyser, MP Biomedicals FastPrep). As of 2026, tubes pre-filled with 2X concentrate DNA/RNA Shield are also available for samples with high aqueous volume.

For procurement and bulk ordering, MBP accepts purchase orders and offers direct customer support — a consistent advantage over the automated queues of large distributors. Contact the MBP team to select the right lysis and collection format.