Reagent bottle
Encyclopedia
Reagent bottles, also known as media bottles or graduated bottles, are containers made of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

, plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

, borosilicate
Borosilicate glass
Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion , making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass...

 or related substances, and topped by special caps
Bottle cap
Bottle caps are a type of closure used to seal the openings of bottles of many types. They can be small circular pieces of metal, usually steel, with plastic backings, and for plastic bottles a plastic cap is used instead. A bottle cap is typically colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand...

 or stoppers
Stopper (plug)
A bung is truncated cylindrical or conical closure to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube or barrel. Unlike a lid which encloses a container from the outside without displacing the inner volume, a bung is partially inserted inside the container to act as a seal...

 and are intended to contain chemicals in liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...

 or powder form for laboratories
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...

 and stored in cabinets
Cabinet (furniture)
A cabinet is usually a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors or drawers for storing miscellaneous items. Some cabinets stand alone while others are built into a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood or, now increasingly, of synthetic...

 or on shelves. Some reagent bottles are tinted amber (actinic), brown or red in order to protect light-sensitive chemical compounds from visible light, ultraviolet and infrared radiation which may alter or break them down. The bottles are called "graduated" when they have marks on the sides indicating the approximate (rarely exact) amount of liquid at a given level within the container. A reagent bottle is a type of laboratory glassware
Laboratory glassware
Laboratory glassware refers to a variety of equipment, traditionally made of glass, used for scientific experiments and other work in science, especially in chemistry and biology laboratories...

. The term "reagent
Reagent
A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of...

" refers to a substance that is part of a chemical reaction (or an ingredient
Ingredient
An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture . For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain a secret ingredient that is purported to make them better than competing products...

 of which), and "media" is the plural form of "medium
Processing medium
In industrial engineering, a gaseous, vaporous, fluid or shapeless solid material that plays an active role in manufacturing processes - comparable to that of a tool.-Examples:...

" which refers to the liquid or gas which a reaction happens within, or is a processing chemical tool such as (for example) a flux
Flux (metallurgy)
In metallurgy, a flux , is a chemical cleaning agent, flowing agent, or purifying agent. Fluxes may have more than one function at a time...

.

Several companies produce reagent bottles, including Wheaton
Wheaton Industries
Wheaton Industries was a long-standing famous manufacturer of glassware and ceramics products in Millville, New Jersey, USA. A spin-off of the original firm adopted the name in 2006Founded in 1888 by Dr...

, Kimble
Kimble Chase
Kimble Chase, short for Kimble Chase Life Science and Research Products LLC, is headquartered in Vineland, New Jersey. Kimble Chase supplies laboratory equipment and consumables for analytical chemists in the pharmaceutical, scientific, clinical, educational, environmental, industrial, and...

, Corning, Schott AG and trademark glass names include Pyrex
Pyrex
Pyrex is a brand name for glassware, introduced by Corning Incorporated in 1915.Originally, Pyrex was made from borosilicate glass. In the 1940s the composition was changed for some products to tempered soda-lime glass, which is the most common form of glass used in glass bakeware in the US and has...

, Kimax, Duran
Borosilicate glass
Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion , making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass...

, Boro and Bomex.

Common bottle sizes include 100ml, 125ml, 250ml, 500ml, 1000ml (1 liter) and 2000ml (2 liter).

The selection of caps and stoppers that reagent bottles are closed with are just as important as the material the bottles themselves are made of, and the decision as to which cap to use is dependent on the material used within the container, and the amount of heat which the cap can be subject to. Common cap sizes include 33-430 (33mm), 38-430 (38mm), and GL45 (45mm). Caps range in size from narrow mouthed to wide mouthed and often a glass or plastic funnel
Funnel
A funnel is a pipe with a wide, often conical mouth and a narrow stem. It is used to channel liquid or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening. Without a funnel, spillage would occur....

 is needed to properly fill a reagent bottle from a larger or equal sized container's mouth. Reagent bottle caps are commonly said to be "autoclavable
Autoclave
An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...

".

Antique or "vintage" reagent bottles tend to resemble the classic "apothecary bottle" and have a glass stopper.

Reagent bottles are subject to OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...

regulations, and global scientific standards.
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