One of the most common item you may find in a laboratory’s inventory is the centrifuge tube. These disposable items are high-strength polypropylene tubes especially designed to fit in the rotor cavities. Centrifuge tubes look like miniature test tubes with tapered tips. Their design can vary according to the type of solids the have to contain. It could be for biomolecules, insoluble sample, among others.
These tubes are also known as centrifuge tips and they are located inside the centrifuge to spin a high velocity for the time you establish it. Centrifuge tubes capacity may vary from 50 ml down to much smaller capacities, especially when it comes to using minicentrifuges in molecular biology laboratories. The disposable plastic tube for microcentrifuges usually has a 250 μL to 2.0 mL capacity. When using these tubes, once the centrifuge finishes its cycle, your lab operator or scientist has to remove the tub and pour the leftover liquid known as supernatant, into another container. This way leaves the separated particles available for other uses.
Centrifuge tubes uses
You might wonder how many centrifuge tubes can spin at the same time. Well, the answer depends on the centrifuge’s model and its capacity. You should also know that most centrifuges have a protective cover that must be in place before starting the rotation cycle. After this, technicians spin the tubes at proper speeds until the denser particles in each substance gather at the point farthest from the axis and the less dense particles gather at the point closest to the axis.
There is to know that the disposable polypropylene tubes are most common when using microcentrifuges. The ones we offer in our catalog have a conical shape with integral hinged sealing caps. In case you are wondering if centrifuge tubes can hold larger samples, the answer is no. In this case, these larger samples are spun using centrifuge bottles, which range in capacity from 250 to 1000 milliliters. Although some are made of heavy glass, centrifuge bottles are usually made of shatterproof plastics such as polypropylene or polycarbonate. Sealing closures may be used for added leak-proof assurance.
Centrifuge tubes function
Centrifuge tubes are present in most chemistry, biology, biochemistry and clinical medicine laboratory. Of course, where there is a centrifuge, there has to be centrifuge tubes. Laboratory-scale centrifuges can vary widely in speed, capacity, temperature control, and other characteristics. Laboratory centrifuges often accepts a range of different fixed-angle and swinging bucket rotors able to carry different numbers of centrifuge tubes and rated for specific maximum speeds. Centrifuge tubes also have another application in a laboratory, and that is blood separation. You should know that blood separates into three main components: red blood cells, white blood cells, and plasma DNA.
Our line of polypropylene centrifuge tubes offer you resistant, light and finally yet importantly, leak proof features. No more worries about any leaks while testing samples with these centrifuge tubes. These features definitely saves time and effort. In addition, polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer that is resistant to many chemical solvents, bases and acids. This material is a good choice for containers of such liquids. Polypropylene’s melting point is 130 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, one of our centrifuge tube’s most outstanding features is that they come with a white marking strip so that it is easier to identify the samples inside the laboratory. The other feature we are talking about is the fact that these are ultra-clear polypropylene centrifuge tubes, which means that the tubes do not have a ‘hazy’ or ‘milky’ appearance. That is why they have a glass transparency look even at the thicker parts.
You can find different kinds of Centrifuge tubes in our catalog. HERE
