h a l f b a k e r yIt's as much a hovercraft as a pancake is a waffle.
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In all of the areas of biological science in which I've
worked, small microcentrifuge tubes <link> are used
routinely for storage and handling of liquids. Annoyingly,
being small, gravity does not have quite the hold on the
liquids inside that it might on a larger scale. As a
consequence,
there are little droplets of liquid in the lid, or
stuck to the sides of the tube. Worse, we like to mix the
liquids inside by giving it a bit of a flick. Exacerbating the
problem.
To solve it, we have centrifuges <link>, which spin the
liquid to a nice droplet right at the bottom.
The problem with centrifuges, even the small ones, is that
they're no fun. Actually, they're irritating, they make you
wait while they finish spinning because of a 20th century
invention called "safety". That and their real role is to spin
things waaay faster than is necessary for just getting
liquids to the bottom.
My solution, is a Yo-yo. The Yo-yo has a slot for a tube or
two. You insert your tube, give it a quick yo-yo and you're
done. There can only be one or two slots because the tube
needs to end up correctly oriented while in the hand.
There, done.
microcentrifuge tubes from a reputible manufacturer
http://eshop.eppend...icrocentrifuge_tube
[bs0u0155, Jun 02 2014]
Microcentrifuge
http://www.eppendor...trifuge&contentid=2
[bs0u0155, Jun 02 2014]
Quick, safety-free cheap microfuge.
http://www.dzcmarketing.com/?p=735
[MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 02 2014]
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Annotation:
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Straightnin' the curves... |
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I'm surprised you guys don't have a manual bola-type set up for more simple separations. |
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You can buy (cheaply) tiny centrifuges that hold 6
or 8 Eppendorfs (those little tubes), have
lightweight plastic rotors, and spin up to a few
thousand RPM. |
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These take about half a second to spin up, a
couple of seconds to spin down, and have no
safety interlock (ie, they stop spinning when you
open the plastic cover, but there's no lid-lock).
They're allowed to be like this because the total
kinetic energy in the lightweight rotor + tubes is
below some threshold. |
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They are used mainly for exactly what you
describe. Total time (open lid, insert two
Eppendorfs, close lid, press button, release
button, open lid, remove tubes) is about 5 or 6
seconds. |
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Example in the third link. |
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I know they exist, but a: they're still not very fun,
and b: the boss won't buy one, 3. It's not a yo-yo |
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Given that they're so cheap, tell your boss from me
that he's a cheapskate. |
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Failing that, you need to master the wrist-flick,
which works for anything apart from enzymes. |
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Also, what on earth are you doing having a boss? |
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You can also just take a piece of string and an L-shaped piece of
aluminium with a hole in it. Swish-swish and you're done. But its still
not an excuse to use a yo-yo. The wrist flick is all well and good, until
glycerol or PEG or a few other things get involved. |
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Also, the yo-to should have lights, and be 3D printed... That's how you
know it's bleeding edge right? |
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Well, if it's 3D printed then I have no choice but to
admit that it's the superior solution. |
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i did post an notion like this, but it's gone somewhere....like my hair, teeth and sanity. |
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I also like the idea of a massive, incredibly dangerous one for 50ml
falcon tubes. |
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//If falcon tubes are roughly cat sized// |
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Curiously, Falcon tubes are not even falcon-sized.
You can get a mouse in one, though. |
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