Laboratory freezers keep reagents, samples, blood products, and pharmaceuticals stable by holding them well below zero, with the right unit depending on exactly how cold the contents need to be and how quickly they need to get there. Standard laboratory freezers run at minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius for everyday reagent and sample storage, while ultra-low temperature freezers reach minus 80 degrees Celsius to preserve biological material for years, and specialist formats such as plasma freezers and vaccine freezers are built around the exact temperature and speed requirements their contents demand.

Procurement teams in pharmaceutical manufacturing, laboratory managers in research and clinical settings, and blood bank staff all rely on this equipment to keep temperature-sensitive material usable. Browse new and used laboratory freezers from verified sellers on Machinery Masters.

What Are Laboratory Freezers?

A laboratory freezer is any freezer purpose-built for storing scientific, clinical, or pharmaceutical material rather than food, and that purpose shows up in details a domestic freezer lacks, from tighter temperature uniformity and continuous monitoring to alarms that flag a problem long before contents are at risk.

Standard laboratory freezers hold a steady minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius and cover the bulk of everyday reagent, sample, and general research storage, while low-temperature units running at minus 30 to minus 40 degrees Celsius suit material that needs a bit more protection than standard freezing offers. Ultra-low temperature freezers push down to around minus 80 degrees Celsius, a range that keeps cell lines, enzymes, and molecular biology reagents stable for long-term storage rather than just a few months.

Some laboratory freezers are built around one specific job rather than general storage. Plasma freezers rapidly bring blood plasma down below minus 30 degrees Celsius within a tight time window, since clotting factors degrade quickly if plasma isn't frozen fast enough after collection, a requirement blood banking standards spell out in detail.

Vaccine freezers and pharmacy freezers hold pharmaceutical products within a narrow, continuously monitored temperature band, since regulatory guidance treats any excursion outside that band as a potential loss of product efficacy. Explosion-proof, or spark-free, freezers solve a different problem entirely, removing internal ignition sources so a lab can safely store flammable solvents and chemicals that would be a genuine fire risk in a standard freezer.

Laboratory Freezers Brands

So-Low Environmental Equipment, known for its low-temperature and explosion-proof laboratory freezer ranges
Helmer Scientific, known for its Series plasma freezers and blood bank refrigeration equipment
Follett, known for its laboratory and pharmacy freezer product line
Thermo Fisher Scientific, known for its Revco general-purpose laboratory freezers alongside its TSX ultra-low temperature range
Migali Scientific, known for medical and laboratory-grade refrigerators and freezers
NorLake Scientific, known for its Select Series laboratory and pharmacy freezers
American Biotech Supply (ABS), known for its pharmacy and vaccine freezer and refrigerator ranges
PHC Corporation (PHCbi), known for laboratory-grade freezers across minus 20, minus 30, and minus 40 degree ranges as well as its ULT lines
Haier Biomedical, known for a broad range of laboratory freezers spanning standard, low-temperature, and ultra-low formats
Arctiko, a Danish manufacturer known for biomedical refrigerators and low-temperature chest and upright freezers

Please verify this brand list against current Machinery Masters marketplace inventory before publishing, as available stock changes over time.

Laboratory Freezers Product Types

Laboratory freezers divide into a handful of formats depending on the temperature range needed and what the contents specifically require.

Standard Laboratory Freezers (Minus 20 to Minus 30 Degrees)

Standard laboratory freezers cover the majority of everyday reagent, sample, and general research storage needs, holding a steady minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius in either chest or upright configurations. Most laboratories keep at least one of these units running continuously as routine infrastructure rather than for any single specialist purpose.

Low-Temperature Freezers (Minus 30 to Minus 40 Degrees)

Low-temperature freezers sit between standard freezing and ultra-low storage, offering extra protection for material that degrades faster at minus 20 degrees but doesn't need the far deeper cold of an ultra-low unit. This format suits certain reagents, enzymes, and biological samples with intermediate stability requirements.

Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Freezers

Ultra-low temperature freezers reach around minus 80 degrees Celsius, the standard for long-term preservation of cell lines, vaccines, enzymes, and molecular biology reagents. Buyers generally weigh energy consumption, door-opening temperature recovery time, and alarm reliability heavily when choosing between models, since these units run continuously for years.

Plasma Freezers

Plasma freezers rapidly freeze blood plasma to below minus 30 degrees Celsius within a defined time window, preserving the clotting factors that would otherwise degrade if freezing happened too slowly. Blood banks and plasma collection centres rely on this format to meet blood banking standards for usable, transfusable plasma.

Vaccine and Pharmacy Freezers

Vaccine and pharmacy freezers hold pharmaceutical products within a narrow, continuously monitored temperature band, built to meet the storage and monitoring guidance that health authorities set for vaccines and other temperature-sensitive medicines. Pharmacies, clinics, and vaccination sites depend on this format daily.

Explosion-Proof and Flammable-Material Storage Freezers

Explosion-proof freezers remove internal ignition sources such as exposed switches and non-sealed components, making it safe to store flammable solvents and chemicals that would pose a genuine fire risk inside a standard freezer. Laboratories handling volatile organic solvents treat this format as a safety requirement rather than an optional upgrade.

Laboratory Freezers Applications and Uses

Laboratory freezers support storage needs across pharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical laboratories, blood banking, and general research, with the right format depending on what's being stored and how sensitive it is.

General Reagent and Sample Storage

Research and quality control laboratories rely on standard and low-temperature freezers for the everyday job of keeping reagents, buffers, and samples stable between uses, the most common freezer application by volume across almost any laboratory.

Long-Term Biological Sample Preservation

Ultra-low temperature freezers preserve cell lines, enzymes, and molecular biology reagents for months or years, supporting research programmes and biobanks that depend on samples remaining usable long after collection.

Blood Plasma Collection and Processing

Blood banks and plasma collection centres use plasma freezers to rapidly freeze donated plasma within the time window blood banking standards require, protecting the clotting factors that make frozen plasma clinically usable.

Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Storage

Pharmacies, clinics, and healthcare facilities use vaccine and pharmacy freezers to keep temperature-sensitive medicines within their approved storage range, with continuous monitoring in place to catch any excursion before it affects product efficacy.

Flammable Solvent and Chemical Storage

Laboratories working with volatile organic solvents use explosion-proof freezers to store flammable material safely, removing the ignition risk that a standard freezer's internal components would otherwise introduce.

How to Choose a Laboratory Freezer

A handful of practical factors determine which laboratory freezer suits a laboratory or facility's needs.

Start with the temperature your material actually requires, choosing a standard freezer for minus 20 to minus 30 degree storage, a low-temperature unit for minus 30 to minus 40 degrees, and an ultra-low temperature freezer for minus 80 degree long-term preservation.
Consider whether your contents need a specialist format, such as a plasma freezer for rapid clotting-factor preservation or a vaccine freezer for continuously monitored pharmaceutical storage.
Check whether flammable solvents or chemicals will be stored, since these require an explosion-proof or spark-free freezer rather than a standard unit.
Match capacity and chest or upright configuration to your available space and how often the unit needs opening, since frequent access affects temperature recovery time.
For used equipment, request a documented service history, confirm the compressor and alarm system still perform to specification, and check that the unit has been running within its target range consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a standard laboratory freezer and an ultra-low-temperature freezer?

A standard laboratory freezer holds material at minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius, suited to everyday reagent and sample storage, while an ultra-low temperature freezer reaches around minus 80 degrees Celsius for long-term preservation of cell lines, vaccines, and sensitive biological reagents. Laboratories typically need both, since routine samples and long-term biological material have very different storage requirements.

What makes a plasma freezer different from a standard laboratory freezer?

A plasma freezer is built to rapidly bring blood plasma below minus 30 degrees Celsius within a defined time window, since clotting factors degrade if freezing happens too slowly, while a standard laboratory freezer simply maintains a steady temperature without that rapid-freeze requirement. Blood banks and plasma collection centres rely specifically on plasma freezers to meet blood banking standards.

Do I need an explosion-proof freezer to store flammable chemicals?

Yes, standard laboratory freezers contain internal electrical components that can ignite flammable vapours, so any laboratory storing volatile organic solvents or other flammable material needs an explosion-proof or spark-free freezer designed to eliminate that ignition risk. This is treated as a safety requirement rather than a preference in most laboratories handling volatile chemicals.

What is the difference between new and used laboratory freezers?

New laboratory freezers come with a manufacturer warranty and current compressor and monitoring technology, while used freezers offer meaningful cost savings and suit organisations that can confirm service history and verify the unit still holds its target temperature reliably. It is worth requesting temperature log data from a seller before relying on a used freezer for valuable or irreplaceable material.

How can I find laboratory freezers on Machinery Masters?

Browse the Machinery Masters marketplace for new and used laboratory freezers from verified sellers, and use the filters to narrow results by brand, temperature range, and configuration. Contact a seller directly to confirm specifications, service history, and pricing before you buy.