Bead Beating Offers High-Performance Homogenization for Molecular Biology Downstream Processing of Tough and Difficult Samples

Abstract

Sample preparation is a critical step which proceeds molecular downstream analysis such as DNA, RNA, protein, enzymatic, or drug extraction. The Precellys homogenizers are the most efficient bead-beating technology available due to its three-dimensional motion, which provides powerful vertical and horizontal shearing forces. The Precellys lysing kits are 0.5, 2, 7, or 15 mL tubes prefilled with different matrix such as ceramic (zirconium oxide), glass, or metal (stainless steel) beads. Each lysing kit has been validated for a certain subset of tissues types, and can effectively homogenize any type of difficult sample such as tumor tissues, bones, teeth, or microorganisms. The Precellys homogenizers offer low and high-throughput options, and up to 3 samples (low throughput) or 24 samples (high-throughput) can be processed simultaneously, in typically 30–60 seconds for most sample types. For thermo-sensitive applications such as RNA, enzymatic, or metabolite extraction, the Cryolys cooling unit can be used to maintain a constant low temperature of 4 °C within the Precellys sample processing chamber. The use of sealed lysing tubes prevents cross-contamination and maintains reproducibility amongst biological replicates due to the semi-automated operation of the homogenizers. Precellys protocols are programmable for speed, number of cycles, and duration of each cycle. Therefore, bead-beating technology is superior to traditional manual methods such as mortar and pestle or ultrasonication, which are time consuming (processes one sample at a time), labor-intensive, and introduces user variation.