VIABANK vials contain approximately 25 ceramic beads immersed in preservative liquid. Each box contains 80 VIABANK vials with four different coloured caps or all vials with the same coloured caps (your choice of one of the four available colours). It is often necessary to store micro-organisms for later research. This may be for scientific reasons, clinical research, epidemiology, education or commercial applications. Effective storage requires that the micro-organisms remain viable, free from contamination and without any changes in genotype or phenotype. VIABANK™ is a convenient, easy-to-use cryoprotection system for the storage of microorganisms. The bacterial culture to be stored is added to the cryopreservation solution in a vial containing (approximately) 25 coloured beads. After mixing, excess liquid is removed and the tube is stored in the freezer. If any organisms are needed, individual beads are selected from the vial and used to create a fresh culture.