The New Brunswick Roller Drum units are designed to grow mini-preparations of bacterial and tissue cultures by the roller tube method. Two designs are available that accommodate either a fast (TC-7, 6-56 rpm) or slow (TC-8, 0.2-3.5 rpm) rotation. An on/off switch and an adjustment knob for adjusting the speed are provided as controls. The unit has a simple, robust design that utilizes an electrical motor to rotate the different size roller drums that are sold as accessories. The four drums that are currently offered provide the user with drums that have different sizes and capacities, ranging from 164 tubes of 16 mm or smaller diameter to 46 tubes of 25 mm diameter and smaller. The drums are lightweight and made primarily of aluminum construction and can also be used as storage racks.
We have used both the TC-7 and TC-8 roller drum units for some time and have established that the TC-8 is best for our purposes, which are primarily culturing tissue slices. The TC-8 roller drum has worked quite well given the conditions we have subjected it to. Many experiments last for one month or more and this requires the instrument to operate within our tissue culture incubator at ~100 % humidity at 37oC for the entire duration. The listed rpm range for the TC-8 is 0.2-3.5 rpm, but to our satisfaction, it runs at higher rotation speeds of up to ~12-13 rpm. Further, because the TC-8 is made to run at low speeds, we do not have to worry about an unbalanced drum or overloading causing the unit to stop.
While our target rotation speed is ~7-8 rpm, we first tried using the TC-7, but realized that if a weight distribution imbalance exists within the drum, it does not rotate smoothly at low (<10 rpm) speeds. The unit speeds up and slows down depending on weight distribution and this can be very unnerving when leaving an experiment for the night. However, the TC-7 is not designed to operate at slow rpm and seems to run without any problems at higher speeds than we use (>10 rpm). We did encounter one problem with the TC-8 roller drum when the roller had stopped. Apparently, the motor had burned out and upon asking the techs at New Brunswick, they mentioned they had some problems with motors during a certain production period and that new motors were being installed in the new units. Although our 1 year warranty had run out, they promptly sent us a replacement motor and the roller unit now runs fine.
In summary I would recommend the New Brunswick roller drum units to anyone needing a way to rotate their tissue culture vessels. It seems the instrument is simple and well suited to rotate any tubes that fit into the various drum sizes. We are impressed with the ruggedness and durability of the instrument and anticipate using it for some time. The sales rep for our area was extremely friendly and was of great help in getting us a replacement motor quickly. Knowing which version (TC-7 or TC-8) is appropriate for your needs will be very helpful.
Holger P. Behrsing, Ph.D.
Toxicologist
Biosciences Division
SRI International
Menlo Park, CA