Square Disposable Weigh Boats — FDA Food-Grade Polystyrene for Accurate Sample Measurement
Heathrow Scientific square weigh boats are manufactured from FDA food-grade polystyrene and are biologically inert, making them suitable for direct contact with pharmaceutical ingredients, food samples, chemical reagents, and powdered compounds. Available in Small, Medium, and Large sizes across three colors — White, Blue, and Black — each boat features smooth, flat interior surfaces that minimize sample adhesion and an integrated easy-pour spout that transfers weighed material cleanly into reaction vessels, dissolution media, or extraction containers. Sold in packs of 500, these boats are the dependable everyday consumable for analytical balance and microbalance workflows in research, QC, and production environments.
Features & Benefits
- FDA food-grade polystyrene: Material compliance with FDA 21 CFR food contact regulations allows use with pharmaceutical APIs, nutraceutical ingredients, and food science samples without additional material qualification documentation.
- Biologically inert: Polystyrene does not react with or absorb standard aqueous buffer solutions, organic solvents at low concentrations, or common laboratory chemicals, ensuring the weighed quantity reflects the true sample mass without container interaction.
- Smooth, flat interior surfaces: The smooth-surface interior minimizes residual sample adhesion, allowing virtually complete transfer of powders and granules from boat to receiving vessel, reducing weighing error from material retained in the boat.
- Integrated easy-pour spout: Each boat has a molded pouring channel at one corner that creates a clean, controlled pour stream for fine powders and granules, reducing spillage and sample loss during transfer.
- Rounded corners: Rounded interior corners prevent powder bridging and packing that occurs at sharp right-angle corners, ensuring consistent flow-out of the full weighed sample.
- Shallow, wide-bottom design: A low-profile, wide-base geometry resists tipping when placed on balance pans, reducing the risk of sample loss during the weighing process even when the boat is loaded near capacity.
- Resistant to dilute acids, alcohols, and bases: Polystyrene resists the sample matrices and cleaning agents commonly used in analytical chemistry, QC, and pharmaceutical testing environments.
- Microwave moisture analyzer compatible: The material is compatible with microwave-based loss-on-drying instruments, extending the application range to moisture content determination workflows.
- Three color options for sample differentiation: White, Blue, and Black provide contrast options depending on sample color — white boats enhance visibility for dark samples, black boats improve contrast for light powders, and blue boats provide a neutral option for general use.
Specifications
| Material | Polystyrene (FDA food-grade) |
| Shape | Square with easy-pour spout |
| Size Options | Small, Medium, Large |
| Small Dimensions | 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.3 in (4.6 x 4.6 x 0.8 cm) | 10mL volume |
| Colors Available | White, Blue, Black |
| Sold As | Pack of 500 |
| Microwave Compatible | Yes |
| FDA Compliant | Yes (food-grade) |
| Brand | Heathrow Scientific |
Applications
Weigh boats are one of the most consumed disposable items in analytical and QC laboratories. In pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, they are used daily for API weighing, excipient dispensing, formulation ingredient preparation, and dissolution testing setup. Analytical chemistry labs use weigh boats to prepare calibration standards, weigh reagents for solution preparation, and measure precipitates from gravimetric analyses. Environmental testing laboratories weigh filter papers, soil samples, and sediment residues on weigh boats during extraction and digestion protocols. Food science and nutraceutical labs use FDA-certified boats for direct weighing of flavor compounds, vitamin premixes, and food ingredients. In university chemistry and biology teaching labs, the large pack quantity provides continuous supply across a full academic year without mid-semester restocking. The microwave moisture analyzer compatibility adds a direct application in moisture content QC for powdered materials in pharmaceutical and food production.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the volume capacity of each weigh boat size?
The Small boat holds approximately 10mL and measures 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.3 inches. The Medium boat is proportionally larger for samples requiring greater lateral spread to distribute the material evenly for moisture analyzer use. The Large boat accommodates bulk samples or larger mass quantities while maintaining the wide, low-profile design that resists tipping. For exact dimensions of the Medium and Large sizes, refer to the specification table in the product listing for those size variants.
Can polystyrene weigh boats be used with organic solvents?
Polystyrene has limited resistance to aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene, xylene) and chlorinated solvents (chloroform, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride), which can dissolve or craze the material. For sample preparation involving these solvents, aluminum or polypropylene weigh boats are recommended. Polystyrene boats are compatible with aqueous solutions, alcohols at low concentration, dilute acids and bases, and most common buffer systems encountered in biochemistry and pharmaceutical testing.
Are these weigh boats suitable for electrostatic-sensitive samples?
Standard polystyrene weigh boats can generate static charge, which can cause fine powders to adhere to the boat wall and interfere with complete transfer to the receiving vessel. For electrostatic-sensitive powders such as pharmaceutical APIs with very low bulk density, antistatic weigh boats are recommended to prevent powder loss from static adherence. The Black color variant in this product line is the standard version — not treated with antistatic agents. Antistatic weigh boat versions are available as a separate product.
Volume Discounts
LabSupplies.com offers below retail pricing with volume discounts available. As an authorized Heathrow Scientific dealer, we ship directly from USA inventory. Pack of 500 pricing provides significant per-unit savings versus small quantity purchasing for high-throughput labs.