Each impact-resistant 4.5 mL tube contains 1.4 ceramic spheres, 0.1 mm silica spheres, and 2 (two) 4 mm glass beads. Lysing Matrix E is primarily used for environmental samples such as soil, sludge, wastwater and feces. Lysing Matrix E can also be effective in lysing mixed samples, such as microbe infected tissue, and can be used in RNA extraction from tumors and other difficult tissues.