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Tubes, Bottles, and Accessories
Temperature Limits
konical Tubes
konical tubes, used with conical adapters in swinging-bucket rotors to optimize
pelleting separations, have a conical tip that concentrates the pellet in the narrow end
of the tube. The narrow bottom also reduces the tube’s nominal volume and
minimizes the amount of gradient material needed when pelleting through a dense
cushion. They are available in polypropylene and Ultra-Clear. The konical tubes come
in both open-top and Quick-Seal tube designs. The Quick-Seal type have bell-shaped
tops to fit the floating spacers in the g-Max system for smaller volume runs with faster
pelleting.
Bottles
Bottles are available in polycarbonate (hard and clear), polypropylene (translucent),
and polypropylene (translucent).
• Threaded-top polycarbonate bottles are available for many fixed-angle rotors.
They have a liquid-tight cap assembly and are easy to use. Caps (and plugs, if
applicable) should always be removed before autoclaving.
• Type 16 and Type 28 rotors (no longer manufactured) use capped polypropylene
bottles in addition to polycarbonate bottles.
• The Type 19 rotor uses a polypropylene bottle with a three-piece cap assembly
consisting of a Noryl plug, a neoprene O-ring, and a Delrin cap.
Information about these bottles can be found in the individual rotor manuals.
Temperature Limits
Each labware material has a specified temperature range. Although some high-speed
centrifuges can achieve temperatures as high as 45°C, only certain tube or bottle
materials can be run under these conditions. Most containers are made of
thermoplastic materials that soften at elevated temperatures. This temperatureinduced softening, together with such factors as the centrifugal force, the run
duration, the type of rotor, previous run history, and the tube angle, can cause labware
to collapse. Therefore, if high-temperature runs—above 25°C—are required, it is best
to pretest labware under the actual experimental conditions, using buffer or gradient
of similar density rather than a valuable sample. (Stainless steel tubes can be
centrifuged at any temperature.)
• Plastic labware has been centrifuge tested for use at temperatures between 2 and
25°C. For centrifugation at other temperatures, pretest tubes under anticipated
run conditions.
• If plastic containers are frozen before use, make sure that they are thawed to at
least 2°C prior to centrifugation.
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