What is a centrifuge tube and what is it used for?- Zhejiang Hankang Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

Centrifuge tubes are containers filled with the substance to be analyzed. They were developed to house centrifuges, a type of laboratory equipment that spins samples at high speeds to separate materials within the samples. Many laboratory processes require the help of a centrifuge, and the centrifuge tubes are designed to fit perfectly, keeping the centrifuge balanced and staying in place during spinning.

The main purpose of the centrifuge tube

Various laboratory methods require the use of centrifuges and centrifuge tubes. Environmental laboratories often use them due to the nature of the samples. The samples they obtained were generally not clean drinking water but were filled with various materials.

1. Soil samples

Several extraction methods for soil analysis require combining the soil with water or a solvent. Thorough binding of soil and water releases analytes of interest from the soil into the water, where they can be analyzed on the instrument. Often, mixing soil and water makes the solution cloudy, and the soil particles are too large to be analyzed effectively. Putting the sample in a centrifuge tube and spinning it will pull all the soil material to the bottom of the tube. The water can then be removed from the tube for analysis.

2. Processing the samples

Customers in industries such as the chemical or pharmaceutical industries have processes for combining water with other materials. Oil, fuel, and other contaminants may be present in the samples they send for analysis. To analyze water, the analyst must centrifuge the sample. This will result in a significant separation of water and other contaminants. Analysts can then collect the water with a straw or syringe, leaving other materials behind.

3. Medical Laboratory

Centrifuge tubes are essential for the separation of components in medical laboratories. In blood samples, they can separate organelles from cells and precipitate cells and viruses. Centrifugation is an essential part of extracting DNA or RNA from cells.

4. Save your instrument

By using a centrifuge to separate layers of material, you can extend the life of your laboratory equipment. Gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, and high-pressure liquid chromatographs are just a few of the instruments that centrifuged samples can support. The instrument injects a small amount of sample through the column and isolates the analytes of interest, which are then identified by the instrument software.

If you inject additional contaminants into the instrument, you may not be able to identify any analytes in your sample. Contaminants can overshadow the analytes you're looking for so you don't see them. Sometimes the particle size of the contaminants is too large to pass through the column and can cause severe clogging and pressure fluctuations.

Laboratory instruments are expensive, and analysts must do everything in their power to protect them from harmful samples. Centrifuge tubes are the key to keeping your equipment healthy and thus increasing your productivity.

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