Common Terms for Centrifuges

Centrifuges spin samples using centrifugal force at a high speed to separate particles, remove moisture, isolate nucleic acids, filtrate, and more. Centrifuge systems are used in microbiology, tissue culture, proteonomics, genomics, molecular biology and more.

When choosing and using a centrifuge, what are the common terms? Here is an overview:

Cole-Parmer® Personal Microcentrifuge

Cole-Parmer® Personal Microcentrifuge

g-force: A unit of measurement for samples undergoing the stress of acceleration in a centrifuge.

Microplate rotor: Typically used for nucleic acid separations, oligo concentrations, and protein or peptide recovery. Accepts pairs of standard or deep-well microplates

RCF (relative centrifugal force): The force that the sample undergoes, dependent on the speed of rotation (Q) in rpm and the rotating radius (r). The rotating radius is the distance measured from the center axis of the centrifuge rotor to the extreme tip of the tube. RCF = 11.18 x r (Q/1000)2

Rotors, fixed angle: Collect sediment diagonally in the tube; useful for pelleting applications. Higher rotational speeds and higher g-forces are achievable using fixed-angle rotors

Rotors, swing out: Sediment forms on the bottom of the tube; ideal for cell culturing applications

Tubes, conical bottom: Cone-shaped bottom is ideal for cell culturing and ammonium sulfate precipitations

Tubes, Oak Ridge: Accommodate higher speed centrifugation and lipid extraction

Tubes, round bottom: These tubes have a uniform wall thickness and provide a better fit in a rotor than conical-bottom tubes. Round-bottom tubes also withstand higher g-forces

See all centrifuges.

Also, browse all Centrifuge and Microcentrifuge Tube options available from Cole-Parmer

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