Incubators

Precise, energy-efficient and safe. Even minimal temperature deviations can cause an experiment or cultivation in an incubator to fail. Therefore heating and control in a Memmert incubator are perfectly matched to avoid dangerous temperature overshoots. Since 1947.

Even during the heating phase, a Memmert incubator keeps the set parameters within the tightest tolerances throughout the interior. It meets the strict requirements of DIN 12880:2007-05 and is equipped with absolutely reliable safety functions.

The incubator in the laboratory

An incubator is used for a variety of applications.

• Incubation of cell cultures in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)
• Incubation of cell cultures and tissue cultures in stem cell therapy, biomedicine and regenerative medicine 
• Cultivation of bacteria for microbiological tests, determination of bacterial count
• Cultivation below and above room temperature
• BSB5 and BSB7 determination
• Growing crystals for protein crystallography
• Stability tests in the cosmetic and food industry (e.g. dairy products, emulsions)
• Temperature control of infusion solutions, rinsing solutions and contrast agents
• Heated storage and ageing of cultures and samples (e.g. beer)
• Keeping fango, silicate and APS packs warm
• Temperature control of samples, plates, breeding media and emulsions

Functionality of an incubator

For heating, the chamber load is exposed to defined temperatures at atmospheric pressure within an incubator. The thermal energy is transferred to the chamber load by convection and radiation. The opposite is true in the case of cooling. Here the heat is extracted from the chamber load and released to the environment outside the incubator via the cooling system (Peltier-cooling in the Memmert cooled incubator IPPeco or compressor-cooling in the Memmert cooled incubator ICPeco).

The heating system of a Memmert incubator can be programmed according to respective requirements with regard to energy efficiency, heating-up times, quiet running or low vibration. With conventional IN and IF incubators (with natural convection or forced convection), heating takes place via a unique, full-surface heating system (all-round heating) behind the interior walls. In contrast to other heating systems such as ring heaters or heating coils, this ensures excellent heat transfer and optimum temperature distribution and uniformity even when fully loaded, thanks to the direct contact between the heating ribs and shelf or grid. The energy-efficient, quiet and vibration-free cooled incubator IPPeco is suitable for incubation temperatures close to ambient temperature due to the Peltier technology used for both heating and cooling. The comressor cooled incubator ICPeco, in turn, cools with conventional compressor technology and wins with fast heating-up and cool-down times.

Special Memmert incubators

• The incubator as a medical device: The INmplus and IFmplus incubators are Class I medical devices according to EU Directive 93/42/EEC. They may be used for temperature control of rinsing and infusion solutions and contrast agents.
• The CO₂ incubator as a medical device: The Memmert incubator ICOmed is the ideal CO₂ incubator for the protection of cell cultures, bacterial cultures or tissue cultures. Each Memmert CO₂ incubator ICOmed is classified as a class IIa medical device for in-vitro fertilisation and biosynthesis.