Glass or plastic (HDPE, PET, polypropylene) vials designed to safely hold sample diluted in solvent cocktails for liquid scintillation counting. Available in various capacities, sizes, and materials, they typically include closures with and without chemically resistant liners.

Scintillation vials are used for assays that use reagents that emit low-energy radiation. A scintillation counter detects the light produced when phosphors in the cocktail are excited by the emitted radiation.

General-purpose scintillation vials are not scintillation counter-specific and come in capacities ranging from 4 mL to 20 mL.

Properties of Various Vial Types:
• Glass scintillation vials (generally low potassium borosilicate glass) offer consistent, low background counts, and high UV light transmission
• HDPE scintillation vials provide low background counts and excellent light transmission. They will resist swelling caused by solvent degradation
• PET scintillation vials show optimum performance in the laboratory. PET provides an unbreakable plastic vial with the clarity of glass and a low background count
• Polypropylene scintillation vials are a general-purpose vial that can be used for liquid scintillation counting, gamma counting, chromatography, sample storage, and culturing. They provide a high degree of resistance to organic solvents

Sample seal integrity is maintained by a variety of screw caps and liners. For example: urea caps with metal foil or polyethylene disc liners, polypropylene caps with metal foil or pulp-backed metal foil liners, or liner-less polyethylene caps.