Tough Tissue Homogenization with a Bead Mill

By Other Author | July 9 2012

Introduction

The effectiveness of sample preparation influences not only the quality and quantity of the results, but also the conclusions drawn from experiments. Some samples are easier to lyse, while others, such as fibrous human eye tissue samples are much more difficult. Among the multiple methods of homogenization available, the Omni Bead Ruptor is the most effective for processing multiple small samples at one time.

The Omni Bead Ruptor has the broadest performance range of any bead mill homogenizer. It is gentle enough to extract viable cells or bacteria by preserving the integrity of the protein capsid and cell walls, but powerful enough to lyse the toughest of samples. Using tubes pre-filled with a variety of lysing beads, the Omni Bead Ruptor vigorously and uniformly shakes the tubes providing reproducible homogenization while preserving sample integrity. Its optimized motion ensures maximum processing efficiency, and guarantees minimal heat generation and sample degradation. The unit’s brushless motor is virtually maintenance free and allows for nonstop use and high throughput.

RNA extraction from human ocular samples

For some time, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley had been trying to find a new method of homogenization for their human ocular samples (including retina, sclera, choroid, cornea, retinal pigment epithelium, and the optic nerve). The Omni Bead Ruptor allowed them to process 24 tubes containing 100mg to 1g of tissue with 1mL of lysis buffer. The samples were successfully processed using 2 cycles of 30 seconds each, at 5.5m/s. Omni DNAse / RNAse free sample tubes pre-filled with either 2.8mm ceramic beads, or 2.38mm metal beads were used to process their samples. The advanced processing power of the Omni Bead Ruptor led to significant increases in RNA yield and quality while preserving sample integrity.

Conclusion

The bead mill homogenizer from Omni International provided faster and more complete homogenization of tough human ocular tissues. When asked about their experience, the scientists said, “The Omni Bead Ruptor is an excellent product that is highly efficient. It provides desired results with its fast protocol and reasonably high throughput, resulting in a high quality RNA extraction with A260/A280 ratio of 1.9 or greater.” To learn more about Omni Bead Ruptor applications, please visit our applications section at www.beadruptor.com/Applications-13.