What is a centrifuge used for in a lab?

What is a centrifuge used for in a lab?

Centrifuges are used in various laboratories to separate fluids, gases, or liquids based on density. In research and clinical laboratories, centrifuges are often used for cell, organelle, virus, protein, and nucleic acid purification.

What is centrifuge and its uses?

A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or liquids from solids.

What is centrifuge in microbiology?

Introduction. Centrifugation is a method of separating molecules having different densities by spinning them in solution around an axis (in a centrifuge rotor) at high speed. It is one of the most useful and frequently employed techniques in the molecular biology laboratory.

What is the importance of a centrifuge?

A centrifuge is a piece of laboratory equipment used to separate heterogeneous mixtures. When the apparatus containing the mixture spins at a high speed, the centrifugal force pushes the heavier material to the bottom of the vessel. This helps separate the mixture based on differences in the density of the materials.

What are the types of laboratory centrifuges available and the common applications for centrifuges?

These are the different types of centrifuges commonly used in laboratories.

  • Microcentrifuge. As the name suggests, these are extremely compact in design and, therefore, have a smaller footprint that takes up little space on the workbench.
  • Refrigerated Centrifuges.
  • High-Speed Refrigerated Centrifuges.
  • Ultracentrifuges.

Why do centrifuges need to be balanced?

One of the most important characteristics for a centrifuge is balance. You see, centrifuges spin at extremely high speeds to separate material. And an unbalanced centrifuge will not operate at peak efficiency. In order to keep operators safe and product quality high, centrifuges should be serviced to restore balance.

What are centrifuges made of?

The important characteristic of the centrifuge material is, therefore, not just its strength but the ratio of its strength and density. For example, two common materials used for centrifuge rotors are aluminum and steel.

How do centrifuges separate substances?

A centrifuge works by using the principle of sedimentation: Under the influence of gravitational force (g-force), substances separate according to their density. Here, particles are concentrated as a pellet at the bottom of the centrifuge tube and separated from the remaining solution, called supernatant.

What are the different types of centrifuges?

Types of Centrifuge and Centrifugation (definition, principle, uses)

  • Benchtop centrifuge.
  • Continuous flow centrifuge.
  • Gas centrifuge.
  • Hematocrit centrifuge.
  • High-speed centrifuge.
  • Low-speed centrifuge.
  • Microcentrifuge.
  • Refrigerated centrifuges.

Why is pouring the serum or plasma into aliquot tubes not recommended?

WHY NOT? Serum/plasma from difficult draws will contaminate the sample from a “good” draw. DON’T freeze an aliquot if red cells are present, respin and remove the sample from cells. Freezing will release K and other components from the red cells.

What happens when centrifuge is unbalanced?

Unbalanced centrifuge rotors can result in injury or death. Sample container breakage can release aerosols that are harmful if inhaled. The majority of all centrifuge accidents result from user error. High-speed centrifuges rely on rotors designed for the particular make and model.