Differential centrifugation


Differential centrifugation is a procedure in which a homogenate is subjected to repeated centrifugations each time increasing the centrifugal force. Separation is based predominantly on particle mass and size with larger and heavier particles pelleting at lower centrifugal fields. As an example, unbroken whole cells will pellet at low speeds and short intervals such as 1,000 x g for 5 minutes. Whereas smaller cell fragments and organelles require more force and greater times to pellet. In general, one can enrich for whole cells, nuclei, mitochondria and lysosomes, microsomes (vessicles of Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum) and/or cytosol (particle free solution of the cytoplasm), respectively, by exposing a homogenate and subsequent supernatants to sequentially greater centrifugal fields.