Potter-Elvehjem homogenisers

Cells, scraped from the growing surface or sedimented from a suspension culture are washed in PBS to remove serum and other unwanted medium components and then homogenised for example, using 5 strokes of a Potter-Elvehjem homogeniser or, for small volumes, by pipetting. Cell densities can be as low as 106 cells per ml. Disruption is checked using a phase contrast microscope. The nuclei are readily sedimented at 800 g for 10 min. 

Soft tissue which has been coarsely chopped canbebrokenupbya mixer, such as a Waring blender (left) for large scale work, or a Potter-Elvehjem homogeniser (right) for smaller scale work. 

Ordinary kitchen mixers are suitable for homogenising animal tissue in amounts of several hundred grams special apparatus are commercially available. Potter and Elvehjem s homogeniser is that mostly used for smaller amounts this consists of a pestle rotating in a thick-walled test tube so that the space between pestle and wall is less than 1 mm. The tissue to be homogenised is mixed with chloroform-methanol (2+1) and crushed between pestle and glass wall. 

---