Centrifugal separation of cell organelles. Animation showing the successively higher centrifugal speeds and forces used to separate out internal cell structures (organelles). The cells in the sample are lysed (bursting the cells to release their contents). The subcellular components are shown being separated by rotation in a centrifuge at increasing speeds, shown here in terms of the g-force (multiple of the Earth's gravitational pull) generated. Following each centrifugation, the organelles that have gravitated to the bottom of the tube are recovered. The supernatant (overlying liquid) is then re-centrifugated at a higher speed to obtain smaller organelles. The four organelles shown here as insets, with the g-force applied shown across top, are (from left to right): cell nucleus (800G), mitochondria (15, 000G), internal membranes (100, 000G), and ribosomes (200, 000G). For this animation without labels, see K004/3659. |