Consumables - Tubes and Vials
Covaris tubes come in a variety of types and sizes for sample analysis and processing, largely used with AFA-energetics®. The Covaris Adaptive Focused Acoustics® (AFA®) process employs focused bursts of tunable acoustic energy through a water bath to a small focal zone within the Covaris tube immersed in the bath.
The Covaris tube is a critical component to the success of AFA. The AFA-TUBE®, microTUBE, milliTUBE and miniTUBE product lines were engineered by Covaris to provide controlled isothermal and repeatable treatment at all power settings.
| Fragment Size* | Sample Volume | Covaris Products |
| 175 to 1.5 kbp | 5 to 50 µl | AFA-TUBE |
| 150 to 1.5 kbp | 130 µl | microTUBE-130 |
| 150 to 1.5 kbp | 55 µl | microTUBE-50 |
| 150 to 1.5 kbp | 15 µl | microTUBE-15 |
| 2 kbp | 200 µl | miniTUBE Clear |
| 3 kbp | 200 µl | miniTUBE Blue |
| 5 kbp | 200 µl | miniTUBE Red |
| 6 – 20 kb | 150 µl | g-TUBE |
*For validated fragment sizes, refer to the Covaris Focused-ultrasonicator Protocol.
AFA-TUBE™
A specially designed, laser etched polymer vessel enabling a single-tube workflow with no transfer steps for high-throughput workflows.
microTUBE
Glass tubes specifically engineered for use with Focused-ulrasonicators. Meant for small sample volumes, 130µl or less.
miniTUBE
Optimized for use with Focused-ultrasonicators to reproducibly shear genomic DNA into fragments ranging from 2 to 5 kb in size.
milliTUBE
Optimized for use with Focused-ultrasonicators, available in 1ml or 2ml sample volumes. Ideal for chromatin shearing workflows.
g-TUBE
A single-use tube that shears DNA using a bench-top centrifuge- no AFA involved. DNA shearing fragments 6-20kb.
AFA-Process Vessels
Designed to enable highly efficient, high power, low temperature processing of formulations and drug delivery systems.
Other AFA-TUBE
Sample processing tubes in specialized sizes to support AFA-enabled applications and workflows such as chromatin shearing.
Resources
Protocols
Protocols for AFA-enabled applications on Focused-ultrasonicator and cryoPREP instruments.
Product Inserts & User Manuals
Product Inserts and User Manuals for Focused-ultrasonicator and cryoPREP instruments, reagent kits and consumables.
Application Notes
Technical notes, application notes and case studies for AFA-enabled applications.
FAQs
The fiber inside the tubes serves a dual purpose. The first is providing nucleation sites for inertial cavitation. Cavitation is a process where a bubble in the liquid rapidly collapses creating a microjet that fragments the DNA. The second purpose is to allow for efficient mixing of the sample during processing. The acoustic fiber is thoroughly cleaned during the manufacturing process before being inserted inside the tubes and is free from organic contaminants.
The single use Covaris g-TUBE can be used to shear DNA into large fragment sizes ranging from 6 kb to 20 kb using a bench top centrifuge. Click here to access the “g-TUBE User Manual” for the current settings required to obtain your desired fragment size, or contact applicationsupport@covaris.com.
Covaris has developed DNA shearing protocols using the microTUBE-500 that generates an equivalent DNA fragment size distribution as the one generated in T6 tubes when processed with AFA-energetics®. These protocols are available for all Covaris focused-ultrasonicators. Click here to find all of our DNA Shearing protocols for the latest information.