Centrifuge apparatus for reorienting gradients

摘要

A centrifuge rotor and sample containers for reorienting gradients and separating the components of a sample. The rotor contains a plurality of cylindrical recesses equally spaced about its rotational axis. The recesses are open at the top and have a concave hemispherical bottom. A cylindrical plug member is positioned in each of the recesses, and the lowermost end of the cylindrical plug member is formed in the shape of a concave hemisphere. A sample container in the shape of a hollow sphere is positioned between the hemisphere of the cylindrical plug member and the hemisphere of the recess bottom, and means are provided to retain the cylindrical plug member in the recess. The symmetry of the hemispherically shaped sample container is advantageous for minimizing any disturbance to a gradient during reorientation. In another embodiment, a centrifuge rotor is provided which is adapted for fixed angle centrifugation with hemispherical sample containers. In yet another embodiment, a centrifuge rotor is adapted for centrifugation with more than one hemispherical sample container in each recess of a "vertical tube" type rotor.