Solving sample bottle leak and pourability problems

Bottle design causes real sample contamination risks

PRECILAB, hailing from Carrollton, Texas, is a leading analytical lab supporting the US and global semiconductor industry. Their main area of expertise is in the analysis of process chemicals for ultratrace metals with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). 

As with any ultratrace metals analysis, sample collection and sample prep are critical parts of the process. And for several years, PRECILAB had used a specific FEP bottle to ship their samples for analysis. The bottle, however, had two main weaknesses: The first was that there were occasional leaks during return shipping – which opened the door to potential sample contamination. 

The second issue with the FEP bottles was that they weren’t designed with “pourability” in mind. When dispensing samples, liquid would run back down the bottle thread, which caused safety concerns for lab staff handling corrosive process fluids.  

PRECILAB turns to Savillex for a solution

PRECILAB eventually decided to evaluate Savillex’s fluoropolymer lab bottle range. What attracted PRECILAB initially was the Savillex bottle’s design. 

In particular, the Savillex lab bottle neck had more thread turns than the bottle they had been using. Plus, the closure design appeared far superior. Also, since the bottle lip was injection molded, it was much smoother and appeared to have better pourability. 

Read the full case study to find out how the Savillex fluoropolymer lab bottles performed once put to the test.