A media dispenser or a culture media dispenser is a device for repeatedly delivering small fixed volumes (typically between 1 ml and 50 ml) of liquid such as a laboratory growth medium like molten agar or caustic or volatile solvents like toluene into a series of receptacles (Petri dishes, test tubes, Fernbach flasks, etc.). It is often important that such dispensers operate without biological or chemical contamination, and so must be internally sealed from the environment and designed for easy cleaning and sterilization before use. At a minimum, a media dispenser consists of some kind of pump connected to a length of discharge tubing or a spout. Dispensers used in laboratories are also frequently connected to microcontrollers to regulate the speed and volume of the medium as it leaves the pump.
Laboratory media dispensers may include the following, among others: floating piston designs, syringe pumps, peristaltic pumps, pipettes or pipettors, and pressure injection cells. Rotodynamic pumps are generally unsuitable for dispensing laboratory media.