Centrifugation is the most used laboratory technique for separating materials. This technique has been used in biochemistry, molecular biology, medicine, food sciences, and industry. It is mainly about gravity and mass. Particles in a solution will be separated based on their size and density. Smaller and less-dense particles might migrate down, but not always. Some particles won’t settle but remain suspended in the solution. You can gain more knowledge about all of these procedures and things related to centrifuge and its rotor types; keep reading this blog.
Swinging Bucket Rotor
Swinging bucket rotors are one type of centrifuge rotor. You will find two types of centrifugal rotors. One is a swinging bucket, while the other is a fixed-angle rotor. We will be talking about the swinging bucket. Swinging bucket rotors are not fixed in place. In the swinging bucket rotors, the buckets are horizontal while working and vertical when stopped.
These buckets are vertical when the system isn’t moving, but they change their position in a horizontal place once they are accelerating. It helps the solution in the tube and the tube to be aligned at a perpendicular angle to the axis of rotation. It is also parallel to the applied centrifugal field. Once the swinging bucket rotor starts to decelerate, the tube will return to its original position.
These buckets have parallel geometry, enabling the sample to move through denser gradients without interruptions. The tubes in swinging bucket rotors are made up of glass centrifuge tubes. They are specially designed for the centrifugation process at a lower speed. These tubes disintegrate at higher centrifugal fields. The tubes that are utilized in the swinging bucket rotors have thin-walled tubes which are protected and secured by the bucket. These rotors will be ideal for your laboratory, and also you can add cell culture dishes with them too.
Advantages of Swinging Bucket Rotors
- Swinging bucket rotors run slowly at full path length.
- These rotors have a high vessel capacity and flexibility.
- It has different adaptor options which are designed for it.
- Rotors have the ability to separate micro-molecules and macro-molecules in solutions.
Fixed Angle Rotor
Fixed angle rotors are one type of centrifuge rotor. The other type of centrifuge rotor is the swinging bucket rotor. If we talk about the fixed angle rotor, the name pretty much tells about it. The fixed angle has bores that are fixed at an angle of 45 degrees. The smallest pellet of this rotor has formed an angle of 45 degrees. The rotors that come with less than 45 degrees have diffuse pellet areas.
The function of fixed-angle rotors is pelleting applications such as pelleting yeast, bacteria, and other different mammalian cells. These rotors are used for isopycnic separations of macromolecules, for example, nucleic acids. The rotation of the fixed angle rotors reorientated the solution in the tubes. The centripetal force’s angle is where more dense materials are separated. The sedimentation happens on the side of the tubes in a fixed-angle rotor.
What’s more interesting about the rotors is that they take hours or a day under normal gravity in 1g in less than a minute because they are proving a force of 10000 g. It allows scientists to separate organelles, tissues, cells, and macromolecules conveniently. However, there are some situations where a fixed-angle rotor will come in handy for you. It is helpful when you have a low number of vessels, and you are using it or when the pellets are small and needed.
Advantages of Fixed Angle Rotor
- These rotors don’t have moving parts
- Fixed angle rotors have lower metal stress
- It comes with shorter centrifugation times with possibly higher g-forces.
- Fixed-angle rotors easily withstand higher gravitational forces.
Final Thoughts
If you are setting up a laboratory and looking forward to adding a centrifuge rotor, then you can select the one that suits your preferences. Both of these centrifuge rotors are good, and they will surely serve you the purpose. You can opt-in for the one that is ticking all the boxes for you.
You can grab some cell culture flasks for your laboratory from MBP Inc. Check out the collection and pick the one that you like.
