Climatic Chambers & Incubators

Laboratory incubators

Incubators are used for numerous applications, such as incubation of cell cultures, cultivation of bacteria, BOD5 and BOD7 determination, or stability testing in the cosmetics and food industries. Incubators are also used for temperature control and warm storage.

How does a laboratory incubator work?

The load is heated by exposing it to defined temperatures in the interior of an incubator at atmospheric pressure. The heat energy is transferred to the load by convection and radiation. Incubators are available with natural convection or forced air circulation. Heating systems include all-round heating, ring heaters or heating coils. The all-round heating systems behind the interior walls of the Memmert incubators offer particular advantages: thanks to the direct contact between the heating fins and the sheet metal or grate, excellent heat transfer as well as optimum temperature distribution and temperature homogeneity are achieved even with a full load.

In the case of cooling, the incubator functions in exactly the opposite way: heat is extracted from the load and released into the environment via the cooling system. Various systems can be used for this purpose. The Memmert IPP cooled incubator, for example, is equipped with Peltier cooling, which is used for both heating and cooling. The Memmert ICPeco cooled incubator has compressor cooling and enables fast heating and cooling times.

Incubator I (IN/INm und IF/IFm) from Memmert

Particularly gentle heating is required for organic load. Heating and control of the Memmert incubators I are optimized for low temperatures up to +80 °C, especially for incubating living cultures at +37 °C. The temperature is driven up within a very narrow corridor and kept exactly at the setpoint to avoid overshoots. Due to the adjustable air turbine, optimal heat distribution can be achieved even when fully loaded. For sensitive samples or samples that must not be exposed to air turbulence, the fan can also be switched off completely.

Memmert incubators are available with natural convection or forced convection and in various model sizes. Temperature deviations caused by fresh air can influence sample characteristics or prolong drying. In Memmert incubators, the fresh air is therefore fed through a pre-heating chamber and seamlessly introduced into the working chamber.

The IN/INm and IF/IFm models are equipped with a single display, while the INplus/INmplus and IFplus/IFmplus incubators have a twin display. TwinDisplay devices are equipped with two high-resolution TFT color graphic displays with touch function, while SingleDisplay devices have one TFT display on the ControlCockpit. The TwinDISPLAY offers several additional functions, such as intuitive programming and archiving of ramps and program sequences or synchronous visualization of the created program sequence during programming. An application-related repeat function (loop) can be inserted at any point within a temperature control program. In addition, repeating weekly programs can be easily created and programming, managing and transferring programs is possible via Ethernet interface or USB port.

The incubator Im is a class I medical device. According to their intended use, the INmplus and IFmplus incubators can be used for the temperature control of rinsing and infusion solutions as well as contrast media. The INm incubators are used for heating and keeping warm fango, silicate and APS packs in physiotherapy.

As little circulating air as possible in the incubator

During incubation, a protective layer of moist air forms over a specimen. Forced circulating air could destroy this protective layer and as a result moisture would be extracted from the culture. The perfect interaction of all-round surface heating and temperature control in Memmert incubators ensures that incubation can normally be carried out without recirculation. If it is necessary to switch on forced convection when the incubator is fully loaded, this can be very finely adjusted in 10% steps from 0 to 100%.

Sterilization for optimum hygiene in the incubator

The interior of the Memmert INplus/IFplus/INmplus/IFmplus incubators, including all fixtures and sensors, can be sterilized in a 4-hour program at +160 °C to ensure optimum hygiene.

CO₂ Incubator ICOmed from Memmert

Safety and user-friendliness are key advantages of Memmert laboratory incubators: the operating display, logging and CO₂ control remain fully functional in the event of a power failure thanks to the battery-backed ControlCOCKPITS, and all parameters are logged in compliance with FDA regulations. Corridors for CO₂, O₂, temperature and humidity can be set individually - if exceeded, messages can be sent to a cell phone in addition to the device alarm.

The control technology of the ICOmed CO₂ incubators is so finely tuned that the set temperature is guaranteed to be reached without overshooting. The rounded corners of the interior allow easy cleaning. At 180 °C, the interior including all sensors can be sterilized for 60 minutes.

Minimized evaporation and condensation in the incubator

Active humidity control minimizes evaporation in the interior and ensures short recovery times after opening the door. Heating of the interior on all six sides (including the heated inner glass door) and active humidity control prevent dangerous condensation. Cell and tissue cultures are thus optimally protected. Turbulence-free interior ventilation ensures a consistently homogeneous atmosphere.

The ICOmed CO₂ incubator is certified as a Class IIa medical device and is used to generate and maintain constant ambient conditions for the application area of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

ICP and ICPeco compressor-cooled incubator from Memmert

These Memmert cooled incubators are cooled in a climate-friendly way with CO₂. The excellent thermodynamic properties of this refrigerant and the finely adjusted control technology ensure that the ICPeco cooled incubator is both powerful and highly precise. Without critical overshoots, temperatures are kept exactly at setpoint.

Constant climate chamber HPPeco from Memmert

The HPPeco climatic chamber from Memmert works in continuous operation around 90 % more energy-efficiently than compressor-cooled devices, requires no refrigerant and is therefore practically maintenance-free. The temperature control from +0 °C to +70 °C and the active humidification and dehumidification from 10 % to 90 % rh in the HPPeco ideally meet the requirements of stability tests in the pharmaceutical industry (Q1A).

The high-precision control guarantees an absolutely homogeneous and stable distribution of temperature and humidity. Thanks to the micro-metering pump and smart control, the interior of the HPPeco is humidified sensitively and quickly. A Peltier-based dehumidification system also guarantees that the climate is precisely controlled to low relative humidity. This creates constant climatic conditions in the chamber even when the test material releases moisture.

Humidity chamber HCP from Memmert

The active humidity control from 20 % to 95 % rh of the Memmert humidity chambers HCP creates a controlled environment for accelerated life tests, stress tess of drug substance according to ICH Q1A and 85/85 tests according to IEC 60068-2-67 and IEC 60068-2-78.

Heating is provided on all six sides, including the heated interior glass door. This minimizes evaporation inside the chamber and the risk of condensation dripping onto the test specimen. In the event of temporary power failure, the aluminum heat conducting jacket serves as a heat accumulator and supports optimal temperature distribution.

Peltier-cooled incubator IPP from Memmert

Memmert's IPP cooled incubators with Peltier elements heat and cool seamlessly in one system. The advantages of the IPP cooled incubators are their excellent adjustability, extremely low control fluctuations, low-vibration operation and great energy savings. All models feature double doors as standard. This reduces contamination and temperature drop while providing an optimal view of the sensitive temperature-controlled product through full-surface inner glass doors. Fans in the Peltier elements ensure fast energy transport as well as optimum temperature dispersion.

Units with Peltier elements for heating and cooling

Peltier technology enables heating and cooling in just one system. Memmert offers various devices with Peltier elements, such as the Peltier-cooled incubator IPP, the storage-cooled incubator IPS and the constant climate chamber HPP. These can achieve up to 90% operating cost reductions compared to compressor technology. In addition, the refrigerated incubators save space in the laboratory and run very quietly, as they do not require a compressor. If a defined humidity is required in the interior, the constant climate chamber HPP with Peltier technology from Memmert is an interesting alternative.

No condensation in the interior with Peltier refrigerators

The Peltier cooling system is closed and there is no air exchange with the environment. The unavoidable formation of dripping water during the cooling process does not take place in the interior, but outside the workspace on the heat sink. The fans integrated in the Peltier elements ensure fast energy transport and optimum temperature distribution.

Climate chambers ICHeco and ICH from Memmert

The climatic chambers work with climate-friendly CO₂ as refrigerant (R744) and are suitable for stability testing according to ICH - WHO - EMA - ASEAN - EMP - GLP - GCCP. Via an air jacket around the hermetically sealed working chamber, heat is introduced into the climatic chamber quickly and over a large area via four sides. This successfully prevents icing of the cooling unit and sample dehydration, and the ICHeco impresses with excellent homogeneity of temperature and humidity.

The standard double doors prevent contamination and temperature drop or rise. At the same time, optimal visibility of the temperature-controlled goods is provided by full-surface inner glass doors.

Thanks to its controlled CO₂ supply, the compact ICH C climatic chamber offers ideal conditions, especially for testing building materials and concrete. Thanks to the electronic CO₂ control with automatic zero setting (NDIR measuring system) and an adjustment range of 0 - 10 %, reliable long-term tests for determining the carbonation depth in concrete can be carried out without space-, energy- and cost-intensive test chambers.

Environmental test chambers CTC, TTC from Memmert

The Memmert environmental test chambers simulate the perfect atmosphere. Processes are sustainably shortened by rapid temperature changes. In combination with fast humidity recovery times, the temperature test chamber TTC and the climatic test chamber CTC form the perfect duo for material testing, functional testing, aging testing or climatic testing of materials, especially for tests according to IEC 60068. The active humidification and dehumidification from 10 % to 98 % rh is electronically controlled.

Instrument modification with special components for Memmert laboratory instruments

With special components, you can optimise your Memmert appliances precisely for your application. Modifications can significantly reduce process and set-up times, and errors during use can be avoided by using monitoring equipment. Individually adapted accessories can noticeably improve the ergonomics and user-friendliness during operation of the unit. A wide range of modifications are available for the standard units:

• Mechanics (customised interior fittings, individual feed-throughs in all sizes and shapes, telescopic rail pull-outs for ergonomic loading).
• Electronics (extended parameter monitoring, e.g. by additional measuring sensors, optical and acoustic process monitoring, e.g. by a traffic light circuit)
• Software (additional interfaces for data evaluation, individual temperature, humidity and CO₂‚‚ paramters)
• Accessories (customised base frame and stacking options, modified grids and perforated plates, individual air filters, silicone plugs, levelling feet)

Under the description of the individual units, you will find a detailed list of the respective special components that are available. Do you have any questions about the modification of Memmert units? Please feel free to contact us!