Cell disruption with the Mini-Mill pulverisette 23
5 Jul 2006
The FRITSCH pulverisette 23 is only 30 cm in diameter and weighs less than 15 kilos. This new addition to the range is designed to take up very little laboratory bench space whilst producing outstanding grinding results, especially for small quantities of material.
Based on its function this mill is classified as a vibrating mill. The material is milled in a hollow bowl with a maximum volume of 15 ml with the use of one or more balls. The vibration frequency can be set between 15 and 50 vibrations per second. The processing time can be set to plus/minus one second.
In addition to grinding of concrete, glass, ceramic materials, hair, and gallstones very good results have also been obtained in the disruption of algae for the extraction of chlorophyll.
A new application has been added in the form of cell disruption of plant and animal cells in PCR tubes.
To this end, the Mini-Mill pulverisette 23 can be fitted with a Tube Container. This container holds 6 micro-centrifuge tubes of 1.5 ml or 2 ml or even tubes with a total volume of only 0.5 ml using the adapter provided.
Very good results were also achieved in the preparation of plant cells. In these applications, the tubes were equipped with glass beads or zirconium oxide balls. Depending on the condition and prior treatment of the cells, glass beads between 1 mm and 400 µm or 1 mm zirconium oxide balls proved to be the most effective. The processing time was generally less than 10 minutes.
This system was also successful in the preparation of human and animal cells. Modifying the test conditions described above and using grinding balls elements of zirconium oxide and steel with 1 to 2 mm diameter. The grinding balls of zirconium oxide yielded better results. The preparation work previously performed manually can now be done under precisely controlled and reproducible conditions.
The Mini-Mill pulverisette 23 in combination with the Tube Container accessory is the ideal instrument for fast, efficient and reproducible cell disruption of small sample batches.