50-Well Hinged Microtube Storage Box (Pack of 5)

50-Well Hinged Microtube Storage Box, -80°C Rated

The Heathrow Scientific 50-Well Hinged Microtube Storage Box provides secure long-term storage for 1.5mL and 2.0mL microcentrifuge tubes in ultra-low temperature freezers, liquid nitrogen vapor phase storage, and standard -20°C refrigerators. Rated to -80°C and constructed from translucent vibrantly colored polypropylene, each box holds 50 tubes in 12.3mm-diameter wells with a hinged lid secured by a snap clasp. Sold in packs of 5 boxes in Natural (translucent) or Assorted (Blue, Green, Purple, Yellow, Orange). Autoclavable for sterilization prior to sample loading.

Specifications

Features & Benefits

• -80°C temperature rating: Polypropylene construction maintains structural integrity and lid-clasp function at ultra-low temperatures, preventing the cracking and brittleness that affects lesser plastics in -80°C storage conditions and ensuring tubes remain secured throughout the storage period.
• Hinged lid with snap clasp: The integrated hinge keeps the lid attached to the box body at all times — eliminating the lost-lid problem of detachable covers — while the snap clasp locks tubes securely during storage and transport to prevent accidental opening.
• Translucent colored polypropylene: Colored-translucent construction allows visual confirmation of tube contents and fill levels without opening the box, saving time during sample retrieval from large freezer inventories. The color itself enables project coding by box color in multi-project freezer management systems.
• 50-well 12.3mm diameter wells: Holds standard 1.5mL and 2.0mL microcentrifuge tubes securely in individual wells, preventing tube-to-tube contact that can cause label abrasion and mutual contamination risk in loose storage.
• Frosted writing area: Dedicated external writing surface accepts permanent marker or adhesive labels for box identification with project name, sample set, date, and storage conditions.
• Autoclavable: Polypropylene supports standard autoclave sterilization of boxes before loading samples requiring sterile storage conditions, such as cell line stocks, RNA samples, and virus stocks.
• Pack of 5 for study-scale purchasing: Five identical boxes per pack provides enough storage for up to 250 tubes — the scale of a typical sample cohort for a moderate-throughput study.

Applications

50-Well hinged tube storage boxes are a foundational consumable in biobanking, genomics, and cell biology, where reliable long-term storage of 1.5mL and 2.0mL tubes at -80°C is a daily requirement. Biobanks storing DNA, RNA, plasma, and tissue extracts use these boxes to organize 50-tube aliquot sets from individual study participants, with the box exterior labeled with participant ID and sample collection date. Genomics labs archiving sequencing libraries, BAC clones, and oligonucleotide stocks in individual tubes use the 50-well format to organize libraries by project or batch. Cell biology labs storing frozen cell line working stocks and primary cell cryopreservation vials use hinged boxes with snap clasps to prevent accidental lid opening during freezer access. Virology labs storing virus stocks at -80°C depend on the temperature rating for reliable containment of infectious material through the full storage lifecycle. The assorted color pack is particularly useful in biobanks managing multiple concurrent studies, where each study's tubes are assigned a distinct box color for fast visual identification during freeze-thaw retrieval operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are 50-well tube storage boxes compatible with liquid nitrogen vapor phase storage?

Polypropylene rated to -80°C typically withstands liquid nitrogen vapor phase temperatures (-140°C to -190°C) for routine storage periods, though the -80°C rating is the validated specification. For vapor phase LN₂ storage of irreplaceable samples, verify with your institution's biorepository standard operating procedure for acceptable container materials. Submerged liquid nitrogen storage (direct liquid phase) is not recommended for standard polypropylene tube boxes — this requires specialized LN₂-rated cryoboxes.

How many 50-well boxes fit in a standard -80°C freezer rack?

Standard -80°C upright freezer racks are designed around a box footprint approximately 5 x 5 inches or 13 x 13 cm. The 50-well box (14.2 x 9.2 cm footprint) fits standard freezer racks designed for the 2-inch-high box format. Verify the inner box compartment dimensions of your specific freezer rack against the 14.2 x 9.2 x 5.6 cm box dimensions. Most commercially available -80°C freezer tower racks accept this format.

What is the difference between the 50-well and the 81-well or 100-well tube storage boxes?

The 50-well box (14.2 x 9.2 cm) provides a lower capacity per box at a smaller footprint — suited for studies where each box represents a defined 50-sample unit (e.g., one study participant's complete sample set). The 81-well box (13.0 x 13.0 cm) and 100-well box (14.1 x 15.1 cm) provide greater capacity per box at a larger footprint, suited for large-cohort studies where high box-level capacity minimizes the number of boxes to manage. Choose the capacity that best aligns with your study's natural sample grouping size.

Academic and Institutional Pricing

LabSupplies.com offers tiered quantity pricing for academic and research institutions. As an authorized dealer, we ship directly from USA inventory.