| Bead tube | Cat. # | Bead description | Recommended for | Relevant kits | In conjunction with | |
 |
MN Bead Tubes Type A, MN Bead Tubes Type A 5 mL | 740786.50, 740799.50 | 0.6–0.8 mm ceramic beads | Soil, sediments, stool | NucleoSpin Soil, NucleoSpin DNA Stool, NucleoBond RNA Soil, NucleoSpin RNA Stool (included), NucleoMag DNA/RNA Water | MN Bead Tube Holder or MN Bead Tube Holder 5 mL on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
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MN Bead Tubes Type B | 740812.50 | 40–400 μm glass beads | Bacteria | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (included) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
MN Bead Tubes Type C | 740813.50 | 1–3 mm corundum | Yeast, fungi | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (optional) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
MN Bead Tubes Type D | 740814.50 | 3 mm steel beads | Insects, crustaceans, lipid-rich tissues | NucleoSpin DNA Insect, NucleoSpin DNA Lipid Tissue (included) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
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MN Bead Tubes Type E | 740815.50 | 40–400 μm glass beads + 3 mm steel beads | Bacteria within tissues/insects | NucleoSpin DNA Insect, NucleoSpin DNA Lipid Tissue (optional) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
MN Bead Tubes Type F | 740816.50 | 1–3 mm corundum + 3 mm steel beads | Challenging tissues (e.g. spleen and lung tissues) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 | |
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MN Bead Tubes Type G | 740817.50 | 5 mm steel beads | Plant material | NucleoSpin RNA Plant and Fungi (optional) | With a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
Product Overview
Guide to bead beating: choose the right one for your hard-to-lyse sample
- Bead beating is an essential step for mechanical homogenization of difficult sample materials.
- We provide nucleic acid purification kits that include homogenization beads to effectively lyse different kinds of tissues.
- The homogenization beads are available separately in single-tube (2 or 5 ml), plates (96 or 12 x 8 strips), or bulk format.
- The MN Bead Tube Holder can be used with Vortex-Genie 2 to homogenize challenging samples simply and effectively.
Bead tubes
High-throughput plates
| Bead plate | Cat. # | Bead description | Recommended for | Relevant kits | |
 |
MN 96 Bead Plate Type B | 740851.4, 740851.24 | 40–400 μm glass beads | Bacteria | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (included), NucleoMag DNA Bacteria |
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MN 96 Bead Plate Type D | 740853.4, 740853.24 | 3 mm steel beads | Insects, crustaceans, lipid-rich tissues | NucleoSpin DNA Insect, NucleoSpin DNA Lipid Tissue (included) |
Bulk beads
| Bulk beads | Cat. # | Recommended for | Relevant kits | In conjunction with | |
 |
Type A Ceramic Beads, 0.6–0.8 mm (Bulk) | 740786.B.250 | Soil, sediments, stool | NucleoSpin Soil, NucleoSpin DNA Stool, NucleoBond RNA Soil, NucleoSpin RNA Stool (included), NucleoMag DNA/RNA Water | MN Bead Tube Holder or MN Bead Tube Holder 5 mL on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
Type B1 Glass Beads, 40–70 μm (Bulk) | 740809.B.5000 | Bacteria | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (included) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
|
Type B2 Glass Beads, 0.3–0.4 mm (Bulk) | 740812.B.1000 | Bacteria | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (included) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
Type C Corundum Beads, 1 mm (Bulk) | 740813.B.250 | Yeast, fungi | NucleoSpin Microbial DNA (optional) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
Type D Steel Beads, 3 mm (Bulk) | 740814.B.1000 | Insects, crustaceans, lipid-rich tissues | NucleoSpin DNA Insect, NucleoSpin DNA Lipid Tissue (included) | MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2 or with a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
 |
Type G Steel Beads, 5 mm (Bulk) | 740817.B.250 | Plant material | NucleoSpin RNA Plant and Fungi (optional) | With a mixer mill (e.g., Retsch) |
Bead Tube Holder
The MN Bead Tube Holder (Cat. # 740469) and MN Bead Tube Holder 5 mL (Cat. # 740459; not shown) are used to position MN bead tubes on a vortexer.
Figure 1. The MN Bead Tube Holder on a Vortex-Genie 2.
Protocol
Microbiome DNA
Automated isolation of genomic DNA from microbiome samples using magnetic bead technologies.
Plant DNA
Rapid isolation of genomic DNA from plant samples—high yield and purity.
Plant/fungal RNA
High-quality RNA from plant and fungal samples rich in secondary metabolites, sugar, starch, or other inhibitory compounds.
Food DNA
Rapid manual and automated small-scale preparation of DNA from food or feed samples using magnetic beads.
Insect DNA
Comparison of the yield and purity of insect DNA purified using NucleoSpin DNA Insect versus kits from competitors.
Soil DNA
Rapid isolation of DNA from soil, sludge, stool, and sediment.
Soil DNA (high throughput)
Obtain high-quality DNA from diverse soil samples in 8- or 96-well formats.
Soil RNA
Isolation of high-quality RNA, or RNA and DNA in parallel from soil and sediment samples.
Lipid-rich tissues
Efficient, high-yield isolation of genomic DNA from lipid-rich samples of human or animal origin.
Stool DNA
Purification of high-quality genomic DNA from all cell types in stool samples.
Stool DNA (high throughput)
Overcome challenges associated with complex samples in a 96-well format.
Stool RNA
Efficient RNA isolation from fresh or frozen stool samples and microbes contained within.
Microbial DNA
Efficient DNA isolation from hard-to-lyse microorganisms, including yeast, fungi, and bacteria.
Microbial DNA (liquid culture)
Scalable, magnetic-bead-based technology to enable high-throughput isolation of genomic DNA from a wide variety of microbial cultures.
Water DNA/RNA (magnetic beads)
Efficient isolation of microbial DNA and RNA from diverse water and air samples using automation-friendly magnetic beads.
Water DNA (silica membrane)
Robust eDNA isolation method that is compatible with an array of filtration systems.
Sample homogenization beads
Homogenization beads for RNA or DNA purification from hard-to-lyse sample materials.
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