Enzyme-free centrifuge tubes need to have good chemical stability, low adsorption, and resistance to centrifugal force. The commonly used materials are mainly as follows:
Polypropylene (PP)
Characteristics: It has relatively high chemical stability and can withstand a variety of chemical reagents and acid-base environments without easily reacting with the samples inside the tube. It also has good heat resistance and can endure high-temperature sterilization treatment. Moreover, it can maintain good mechanical strength during the centrifugation process and is not prone to breakage. In addition, its production cost is relatively low, offering a high cost-performance ratio.
Applications: It is widely used in general nucleic acid and protein experiments as well as cell culture fields. For example, in common nucleic acid extraction and protein precipitation centrifugation experiments, enzyme-free centrifuge tubes made of polypropylene can be used.
Polycarbonate (PC)
Characteristics: It has excellent transparency, which is convenient for observing the state of the samples inside the tube. It has high mechanical strength, can withstand high centrifugal forces without being easily deformed, and has good impact resistance. It also has a wide temperature tolerance range and can maintain stable performance in both low and high temperature environments.
Applications: It is often used in experiments that require high-speed centrifugation, such as ultracentrifugation for separating cell substructures and virus particles. In some experiments with high requirements for sample observation, such as observing cell morphology during cell culture, enzyme-free centrifuge tubes made of polycarbonate are also more suitable.
Polystyrene (PS)
Characteristics: It has a smooth surface and low adsorption to biomolecules, which can reduce the adsorption loss of samples on the tube wall, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the samples. It also has good optical properties and can be used in some experiments that require optical detection.
Applications: It is commonly used for collecting and processing samples in immunoassays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and other related experiments. It is also suitable for some experiments with high requirements for the activity of biomolecules, such as protein activity detection, and can effectively avoid experimental errors caused by sample adsorption.
Borosilicate Glass
Characteristics: It has excellent chemical stability and can resist the erosion of almost all chemical substances, showing good compatibility with samples. It has high thermal stability and can withstand high-temperature baking and rapid temperature changes without being prone to breakage. Moreover, its material is pure and will not release impurities that may affect the experiments.
Applications: It is widely used in some high-end experiments with extremely high requirements for experimental precision and sample purity, such as trace metal analysis and radioactive isotope experiments. For the long-term storage of high-purity and high-activity samples, enzyme-free centrifuge tubes made of borosilicate glass are also an ideal choice.
HUACHENGYANG
