Six bead materials, every common size
Density and hardness decide how much energy each impact delivers. Pick the material for your sample, then the size for your vessel.
Chrome Steel
Hard and dense, for aggressive grinding of tough tissue, seeds and bone.
High impactSAE 304 Stainless Steel
Corrosion resistant and ~7.9 g/cc. Maximal breakage and total nucleic acid yield.
Highest densityZirconia Silica
The general purpose default. Good balance of hardness and inertness for most samples.
Best all-roundZirconia Yttria
Higher density and wear resistance than zirconia silica, for demanding, repeated runs.
Long lifeBorosilicate Glass
Low density (~2.5 g/cc) and chemically inert. Gentle lysis of bacteria and yeast.
Gentle & inertSoda Lime Glass
Cost effective glass for routine microbial lysis where bulk volume matters.
Bulk friendlyWhich bead size for which sample?
Small beads (0.1–0.5 mm) carry less energy per impact but create far more contact points, which makes them ideal for bacteria and yeast. Large beads (1–6 mm) deliver high energy and break tough samples such as plant tissue, seeds and bone.
Full sample-by-sample guidance, container limits and cleaning protocols are on the bead dispenser page.