In hospital laboratories centrifuge equipment is a piece of motorised apparatus. Body fluids from a patient are prepared for further testing in a centrifuge.
Examining the constituents of bodily fluids like blood and urine is crucial for medical diagnoses. A different test is necessary because each component serves a particular purpose in the body. However, body fluid particles must first be removed from the supporting fluid to be examined.
What the centrifuge machine does is this. Due to the rapid rotation of the liquid samples and the resulting strong centrifugal forces, the materials separate due to their different densities. The separated parts can then be checked out.
Application types
Laboratory centrifuge equipment has different capacities for holding samples, speeds, and uses. First, we make a distinction between analytical and preparative centrifuges. Preparative centrifuges are the most common type. Their job is to separate the biological sample’s solid components from the supporting fluid so they can be examined further.
Analytical centrifuges perform simultaneous component extraction and analysis. After centrifugation, the analysis result is already available. Most often, we find small tabletop laboratory centrifuge equipment in hospital laboratories.
These centrifuges are also known as preparative centrifuges, general-purpose centrifuges, or microcentrifuges. They are employed to remove bacteria, cells, and parasites from bodily fluids like blood and urine.
Micro centrifugal device
A benchtop centrifuge equipment with a small footprint is called a microcentrifuge. They are made to fit micro tubes ranging in size from 0.2 ml to 2.0 ml. When a unique rotor is mounted to hold the required capillary tubes, it can occasionally be transformed into a hematocrit centrifuge.
There are also chilled versions of microcentrifuges.
The maximum speed of a typical micro centrifuge machine is between 13,000 and 15,000 rpm, which is equivalent to 16,000 to 20,000 g of gravitational force (g-force). High-speed centrifuges are another name for micro centrifuges that can spin at up to 35,000 rpm.
Using an ultracentrifuge
Ultra-centrifuges can spin at speeds of up to 100,000 rpm. This speed can be reached only when the rotor rotates in a vacuum, and the centrifuge is additionally cooled. In an ultra-centrifuge, the forces acting on the samples can be as high as 2,000,000 g.
Hematocrit centrifugation
Analytical centrifuges are hematocrit centrifuges. Although the samples are much smaller, the basic idea is the same. Because there is so little blood in thin capillary tubes, the forces are relatively low.
There is no need for additional analysis because the results are already visible in the capillary tubes after centrifugation. Red blood cell volume as a percentage of total cells in a sample is known as the hematocrit value. Hematocrit centrifuges operate at speeds between 7,000 and 15,000.
Centrifugal blood bank machine
Additionally, centrifuges are used by blood banks to centrifuge the blood bags containing the donors’ “whole blood” (WB). These stationary centrifuges are large, heavy machines refrigerated because blood bags typically have 300 to 500 ml of blood.
The centrifuges in blood banks spin at a rate of 4,000 to 6,000 rpm.
Centrifuges machines that are operated by hand
Because the tubes spin opens without a housing to protect the user, using hand-driven centrifuges is not risk-free. When open lines are used, they also cause the sample to produce an aerosol (danger of infection). In some nations, they are not advised and are even forbidden.
Centrifuge machine design
The centrifuge includes a motor and a tube holder. The motor shaft and rotor are directly coupled. There are no mechanics or gears in between. After a set amount of time, a timer turns the centrifuge off automatically. Speed control and lid lock are also included in modern centrifuges to keep the lid from opening while the rotor is spinning.
