Bullet Blender Supplies & Accessories

Bead Lysis Kits

Save Time with Pre-loaded Tubes!

Next Advance Bead Lysis Kits are pre-filled with bead combinations optimized to homogenize your specific tissue sample. See our recommended protocols. RNase-free or non-sterile. Available in packs of 50 or 250 for microcentrifuge tube kits and 20 or 100 for 5 mL tube kits.

Microcentrifuge tube and 5 mL tube kits are in stock.

1.5 mL Eppendorf^® kits are made with sturdy Eppendorf Safe-Lock tubes.
1.5 mL versions are compatible with all microcentrifuge model Bullet Blenders.

RINO^® kits are made with our RINO tubes, which are specifically made for the Bullet Blenders. They are strong, durable, and contain an integrated rubber seal in the cap to provide an extra layer of protection against sample loss.
These kits are for use with Storm and Gold microcentrifuge-model Bullet Blenders. Learn more about RINO tubes!

5 mL Eppendorf^® kits are made with sturdy Eppendorf tubes.
5 mL versions are compatible with the 5E and 5 Gold Bullet Blender models.

For 50 mL tubes kits and custom kits – please contact us. There is no setup cost for custom kits.

Our Bead Kits

Need help selecting a bead kit? Visit our Kit Selection Guidelines.

Green kits: Excellent for small medium-tough samples
Green Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of stainless steel beads for buffer volumes between 100μL and 300μL. They’re excellent for small samples of tougher material like muscle.

5 mL Green kits: Excellent for medium, tough samples
Green Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of stainless steel beads. They’re excellent for medium samples of tougher material like muscle.

Navy kits: Extra power for your tough samples
Navy Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a custom mix of stainless steel beads for buffer volumes between 300μL and 600μL. They’re great for samples too large for a Green kit, and deliver extra homogenizing power for challenging samples like bone, tumors, and hard-shelled insects such as ticks.

5 mL Navy kits: Extra power for your tough samples in the Bullet Blender 5E and 5 Gold
Navy Bead Lysis Kits are filled with stainless steel beads, great for larger samples of muscle, tumor, and hard-shell insects.

Pink kits: The best for small soft samples with buffer volumes between 100μL and 300μL
Pink Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of zirconium oxide beads for small samples of soft material like liver.

5 mL Pink kits: The best for medium soft samples
Pink Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of zirconium oxide beads for medium samples of soft material like liver.

Red kits: Ideal for medium soft samples with buffer volumes between 300μL and 600μL
Red Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of zirconium oxide beads for medium samples of soft material.

5 mL Red kits: Ideal for larger soft samples in the Bullet Blender 5E and 5 Gold
Red Bead Lysis Kits are filled with a mix of zirconium oxide beads for larger samples of soft material.

Yellow kits: Blend your bacteria better
Yellow Bead Lysis Kits are filled with beads selected for high yielding bacterial lysis.

Custom kits: Made to your specifications
Need a precise mixture of beads to match your SOP or homogenize an unusual sample? Don’t waste hours making them yourself — we offer Custom kits.

Select Your Kits

Homogenization Beads

The Bullet Blender uses homogenization beads to strike and grind your samples. You may choose from a variety of beads suitable for a wide array of samples. The general rules of thumb for choosing the correct beads for your sample are:

• Choose beads with higher densities for tougher samples
• Choose smaller sizes for tiny samples and cell culture
• Choose larger sizes for tough samples and special applications

Beads are available RNase free, pre-loaded in Bead Lysis Kits, and in Sample Bead Packs for different types of applications. Please see the protocol page to determine the appropriate bead or bead lysis kit for your sample.

General Usage Guidelines

• Use a volume of beads that is at least half the volume of liquid in the tube. Using too few beads may lead to poor homogenization. For help determining the appropriate volume of beads, use the bead calculator.
• Use a size of bead proportional to the size of your sample. For very small samples, such as cell culture or tiny pieces of tissue, use our smallest beads (0.2mm or below). For large chunks of tissue, beads 1.0mm or greater may be needed (Beads larger than 3.5mm are not recommended for microcentrifuge tubes).
• For tougher tissue, use denser beads (e.g. zirconium oxide and stainless steel). With soft tissue you can use less dense beads (e.g. glass and zirconium silicate).
• For isolation of organelles, use larger beads (0.5mm or larger for cell culture, 1.0mm or larger for tissue)

We’ve worked out protocols for various sample types so you can spend less time optimizing your experiments and more time getting results. Please see our protocol page for more information.

Bead Sample Packs are convenient for method optimization, or for labs that homogenize several different sample types. Sample packs come with a 10 mL tube of each type of included bead, EXCEPT the BSP-50B for 50 mL tube Bullet Blender models, which comes with 20 mL of each included bead type.

Bead Composition

During the vigorous agitation of the homogenization process, denser beads would have more momentum and thus more energetic impacts with the samples. As such, they can homogenize tougher samples. The trade off is that denser beads, such as stainless steel beads, cost more to manufacture. Another consideration is the size of the bead. Thirdly, stainless steel beads are also available with a ridge. These “UFO” shapes are useful for slicing and grinding samples.

Types of Beads

Stainless Steel (density = 7.9 g/cc)

~80 mL/pound Stainless steel beads can be used for the homogenization of tough samples or for special applications such as bacterial isolation.
Bulk Stainless Steel Beads are sold by the pound (0.45 kg).
UFO Beads are sold by the 50-ml. package.
RNAse-free Stainless Steel Beads are sold by the 4-ml. package.

Zirconium Oxide (density = 5.5 g/cc)

~120 mL/pound Zirconium oxide beads can be used for the homogenization of medium consistency samples and tougher-to-lyse cell suspensions.
Bulk Zirconium Oxide Beads are sold by the pound (0.45 kg)
RNase-free Zirconium Oxide Beads are sold by 4-ml package

Zirconium Silicate (density = 3.8 g/cc)

~180 mL/pound Zirconium silicate beads can be used for the homogenization of medium-soft samples.
Bulk Zirconium Silicate Beads are sold by the pound (0.45 kg)

Glass (density = 2.5 g/cc)

~300 mL/pound Glass beads are used for the homogenization of soft tissue and easy-to-lyse cell suspensions.
Bulk Glass Beads are sold by the pound (0.45 kg)
RNAse-free Glass Beads are sold by the 4-ml container

Bead Sample Packs

Sample packs of different bead types. Great for methods development or for labs that work on a wide variety of samples.

Select Beads

Tubes

This page lists the tubes that we verified will work well. We do not recommend other tubes. They may have different dimensions and not lead to thorough homogenization or they may crack and leak due to the vigorous agitation.

Microcentrifuge Tubes

• RINO^® 1.5 mL Screw-Cap Tubes – Custom made, extra tough, to withstand the powerful agitation in the Bullet Blender Storm (BBY24M) and Bullet Blender Gold (BB24-AU) models. Learn More!
• • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free
• Eppendorf^® Safe-Lock™ 1.5 mL Snap-Cap Tubes – For use in Bullet Blender Storm (BBY24M), Bullet Blender Gold (BB24-AU), Bullet Blender Standard Model (BBX24) and Bullet Blender Blue (BBX24B).
• • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free
  • non-sterile
• Eppendorf Safe-Lock 2.0 mL Snap-Cap Tubes – For use in Bullet Blender Standard Model (BBX24) and Bullet Blender Blue (BBX24B). Available non-sterile or PCR clean, RNase & DNase free.
• • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free
  • non-sterile
• Axygen^® 1.5 mL Screw-Cap Tubes – For use in Bullet Blender W (BBX24W) and Bullet Blender Blue W (BBX24BW) NOTE: These tubes can only be used in W model Bullet Blenders.
• • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free

5 mL Tubes

• Eppendorf 5.0 mL Snap-Cap Tubes – For use in Bullet Blender 5E (BBY5E) and 5 Gold (BB5E-AU).
• • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free
• Axygen 5.0 mL Screw-Cap Self Standing Tubes – For use in Bullet Blender 5 Storm (BBY5EM).
• • Non-sterile
  • PCR clean, RNase & DNase free

50 mL Tubes

• TPP^® 50 mL Screw-Cap Self Standing Tubes – For use in the Bullet Blender 50-DX (BB50-DX) and the Bullet Blender 50 Gold (BB24-AU).
• • Sterile, RNase, DNase and pyrogen free

Tube Racks

• The Arctic Rack Microtube Cooler – Why use a messy ice bucket when preparing your samples? The Arctic Rack keeps your samples cold while safely containing them in microtubes. The Arctic Rack maintains a temperature of approximately 0°C for up to 4 hours. One side is a convenient PCR work station and the other holds 36 standard 1.5/2.0ml microtubes.

Select Tubes

Accessories

The Magnetic Wand

Use this hand-held wand to easily remove stainless beads from homogenate.

Make stainless steel beads levitate out of your sample with the “magic” Magnetic Wand. A very powerful magnet in an easy-to-handle package helps you remove beads from your sample tube before centrifugation. Disposable protective shields are available to prevent cross-contamination. Learn more.

The Stomper

Crush tough material in seconds—with no cross-contamination—With the Next Advance Stomper™. Perfect for dry grinding agricultural samples. Use it with the Bullet Blender homogenizer* to process samples like soybeans, shells, and corn! Have a tough dry sample you need to grind? Contact us for protocols and recommendations!

• Step 1: Place your sample in the tube.
• Step 2: Stomp it.
• Step 3: Add grinding beads and homogenize in the Bullet Blender®. Your sample will be a fine powder in as little as 5 minutes.
• 
  
• Can accommodate 5 mL Axygen^® tubes and 1.5 mL RINO^® tubes
• Quick and easy. Stomping only takes a few seconds
• Disposable pestle shield prevents cross-contamination

The Stomper can be used with the Bullet Blender Storm 5 (BBY5M) if using the 5 mL mortar and pestle set and the Bullet Blender Storm (BBY24M) or Bullet Blender Gold (BB24-AU) if using the RINO tube mortar and pestle set

Select Accessory

Spoons and Spatulas

Use spoons and spatulas for dispensing beads into sample tubes.

100 µL Microspoons

Pack of 25, non-sterile
Pack of 10, RNase-free

500 µL Microspoons

Pack of 25, non-sterile
Pack of 10, RNase-free

50 µL Spatulas

Individually packaged, PCR clean, DNase and RNase free

Pack of 50
Pack of 10

1.2 mL Spoons, Sterile

Pack of 200
Pack of 20

Select Spoons and Spatulas