An incubator is one of the most foundational pieces of equipment in any laboratory, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood when it comes to selecting the right type. Labs that deal with microbiology, cell biology, pharmaceutical research, and clinical diagnostics all use incubators, but each discipline places very different demands on what the incubator must control and maintain. Getting that selection wrong does not usually produce a dramatic failure. It produces the quiet, persistent kind: cultures that grow inconsistently, enzyme reactions that are never fully reproducible, and experimental results that cannot be reliably explained.
This guide covers the main categories of laboratory incubator equipment, what each type is designed to do, and how to match your instrument choice to your actual application requirements.
What A Laboratory Incubator Does
At its most fundamental, a laboratory incubator maintains a controlled thermal environment in which biological or chemical processes can proceed under defined conditions. The core function is temperature control, but modern incubator designs extend far beyond simple heating. Depending on the type, an incubator may also regulate CO2 concentration, humidity, atmospheric oxygen levels, and agitation. The parameters being controlled are what distinguish one incubator category from another.
General Purpose Incubators
General purpose or microbiological incubators are the most straightforward category of laboratory incubator equipment. They function as temperature-controlled chambers, maintaining stable temperatures typically from 5 degrees above ambient up to 70 degrees Celsius, making them suitable for bacterial culture, biochemical studies, environmental monitoring tests, and standard laboratory protocols that require controlled heating without specialized atmospheric control.
These incubators use either gravity (natural) convection or forced (fan-assisted) convection to distribute heat. Gravity convection models are gentler and preserve stratification, which is useful for some gel or plate applications. Forced convection models achieve better spatial uniformity and faster temperature recovery after the door is opened, making them the preferred choice for most routine laboratory work.
Co2 Incubators
CO2 incubators represent the most complex end of the laboratory incubator category and are indispensable for cell culture work. According to Lab Manager, CO2 incubators are typically heated to 37 degrees Celsius, maintain 95 percent relative humidity, and sustain a CO2 level of 5 percent. These three parameters work together to replicate the physiological conditions found inside the human body, which mammalian cells require to remain viable.
The CO2 serves a specific biochemical function. It interacts with the sodium bicarbonate present in the culture medium to form a carbonic acid buffering system that maintains the pH of the medium between 7.2 and 7.4, the range at which most mammalian cells function normally. A CO2 incubator that drifts in any of these three parameters produces cells that are physiologically stressed, which can alter gene expression, protein synthesis, and proliferation rates in ways that compromise experimental validity.
Shaking Incubators
Shaking incubators combine temperature control with orbital agitation, producing a dual-function instrument that serves aerobic bacterial culture, protein expression, solubility studies, and any application requiring both controlled temperature and continuous sample mixing. Sigma-Aldrich technical documentation describes shaking incubators as excelling in cell aeration, solubility studies, and cell culturing, eliminating the need for a separate shaker inside the incubator.
Speed range typically spans from 50 to 300 RPM with orbital diameters that affect mixing intensity at a given speed. For bacterial culture, speeds of 200 to 250 RPM maintain adequate dissolved oxygen. For more delicate mammalian cell suspension cultures, lower speeds in the 30 to 100 RPM range protect cells from shear damage while maintaining nutrient distribution.
Refrigerated And BOD Incubators
Refrigerated incubators maintain temperatures below ambient, typically down to 4 degrees Celsius, which is necessary for cold-culture applications, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) testing, insect and plant growth studies, and fermentation protocols that require temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. These units are essentially cooling incubators that provide precise thermal stability at sub-ambient temperatures where standard heated incubators cannot operate.
Dry Bath Incubators
Dry bath incubators, also known as heat block incubators, use precision-machined aluminum blocks instead of water or heated air to transfer heat directly to sample tubes through conduction. They are compact, maintain precise temperatures up to 130 degrees Celsius on many models, and eliminate the contamination risk associated with water media. For molecular biology protocols requiring rapid and precise heating of small tube volumes, including PCR preparation, enzyme denaturation, and denaturation steps in sequencing workflows, the dry bath incubator is the most practical and hygienic choice.
Choosing The Right Incubator For Your Lab
Selecting the right laboratory incubator equipment starts with defining three parameters: the temperature range and stability your protocols require, whether you need atmospheric control (CO2, O2, or humidity), and whether agitation is part of your workflow. Once these are defined, the appropriate incubator category is usually clear.
At NE LabSystems, we carry a comprehensive range of laboratory incubators, including the ES-60 Incubator Series with temperature control from RT+5 to 60 degrees Celsius, stability within plus or minus 0.3 degrees Celsius at 37 degrees, and shaking speeds from 50 to 300 RPM, backed by free extended warranties on U.S. purchases. Browse the full incubator range or call (877) 733-6838 for a recommendation matched to your specific application.