Why Do Modern Laboratories Need a ULT Freezer?

Offering safe and controlled preservation of biological samples including reagents, proteins, DNA, PCR and sequencing nucleotides, antibodies, enzymes, and small molecules, Ultra Low Temperature (ULT) freezers are an essential part of modern laboratories worldwide.

These specialist freezers are used in a number of facilities, including biobanking, academic institutions, clinics and hospitals, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical laboratories, marine fishery companies, and more.

The Top 4 Ways ULT Freezers are an Asset to the Modern Lab

1. Sample Safety

Keeping precious specimens intact is one of the key tasks for any laboratory. So when laboratories use defective equipment, they run the risk of compromising thousands of dollars worth of precious specimens not to mention research data.

To ensure sample safety and preservation, ULT freezers are designed to provide temperature stability within the unit’s internal chambers. This ensures that even the most valuable and delicate samples are preserved at stable, optimal conditions at all times.

One thing to note is that most ULT freezer models have a seven-point contact silicone gasket that prevents heat leakage. In the event of a power failure, this feature will help to maintain the unit’s internal temperature and keep specimens from degrading.

Additionally, modern ULT freezers have temperature recovery systems that react quickly after any door open incidents which brings the temperature back to optimal levels far quicker than conventional freezers.

2. Energy Efficiency

Laboratories are major energy consumers, oftentimes 3-5 times more than an equivalent-size office building. For example, high dependency on cold storage units is one of the major sources of high energy consumption in laboratories.

In order to address the staggering carbon footprint of freezer units, manufacturers have developed newer, modern ULT freezer models that consume 25% less energy than earlier models.

ULT freezers no longer use harmful CFCs as refrigerants. Instead, they now use hydrocarbon refrigerants like Helium which ensures that the temperature can be maintained for longer and drives down energy consumption.

In addition, ULT freezers are typically equipped with designs such as double doors, gasket seals and polyurethane heat insulation to maximize energy efficiency.

Newer freezers also have longer warm-up times (-80° C to -50° C can take up to 5 hours), meaning less energy expenditure after a rise in temperature caused by, for instance, door open incidents . Overall, these developments produce less environmental heat emissions, as well as ~50% reduction in CO2 emissions.

These reductions translate into significant operational cost savings for the laboratory.

Newer ULT freezers are much quieter as well, and their softer noise output will allow a more functional and less distraction-filled work environment for all.

3. More Size Options

There are a great number of manufacturers and equipment suppliers offering different models of ULT freezers to suit the storage needs of any lab setup.

For labs with a large volume of specimens and frequent usage, upright ultra-low temperature freezers allow for easy access. These have adjustable inner shelves and compartments, and temperature recovery is quicker after door open incidents.

Some laboratories however, don’t require frequent access to their stored samples, so chest-type ULT freezers are more suitable for their use. These ULT freezers guarantee safe, long-term storage for samples and can be filled efficiently to maximise the use of the space.

There are also compact options of ULT freezers, such as tabletop or under-bench models when only a small volume of materials require ultra-low temperature storage.

It is best to consider the size of the ULT freezer needed against the lab’s specimen intake volume and storage needs.

4. Keeping Your Samples Secure

Some biological samples may be highly precious so keeping them secure is of utmost importance.

Most ULT freezers on the market come with a range of security features, especially when they’re being shared in a lab environment with multiple users.

Keeping your samples secure is highly important. Most of the ultra-low temperature freezers on the market come with a range of security features. Of course, security features are essential for any ULT freezer with numerous users.

There are ULT freezers which can be accessed via authorised keycard. Some models have an alarm feature to alert staff of an unauthorised user.

And some ULT freezers may require fingerprint scanning as a security measure, in order to guarantee your samples will not be compromised.