An ultracentrifuge is a specialized, high-speed centrifuge capable of spinning samples at far greater rotational speeds than an ordinary laboratory centrifuge, generating extremely powerful centrifugal forces that can separate very small particles, such as viruses, proteins and subcellular organelles, or that can be used to directly measure the size, shape, density and molecular weight of dissolved macromolecules through the way they migrate or reach equilibrium under that force. The instrument was developed principally by the Swedish chemist Theodor Svedberg in the 1920s, whose analytical ultracentrifuge, capable of directly observing sedimenting particles during a run, earned him the 1926 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and gave rise to the Svedberg unit still used today to describe how quickly a particle sediments. Ultracentrifuges remain essential instruments in biochemistry and molecular biology, used both analytically, to characterize macromolecules, and preparatively, to purify viruses, cell components and biological macromolecules for further study.
Facts
Invented YearSourced to the subject's own account MeasuresSourced to the subject's own accountSeparates cellular organelles, macromolecules and nucleic acids by density and sedimentation rate under very high centrifugal force; sucrose gradients, for example, separate organelles. 1 Operating PrincipleSourced to the subject's own accountSpins a rotor at very high speed to generate strong centrifugal acceleration, as high as 100,000 g, which separates sample components by density. 1 Operating RangeSourced to the subject's own accountModern ultracentrifuges are classified as reaching accelerations greater than 100,000 g. 1 Classification
Instrument ClassSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Invented By
Svedberg developed the ultracentrifuge in 1926 to study colloids and macromolecules by sedimentation, work cited in his 1926 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Used In
The ultracentrifuge spins samples at very high speed to separate macromolecules and organelles by sedimentation, developed by Theodor Svedberg in 1926 for biochemistry.
Sources
1. Ultracentrifuge (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section
Modern ultracentrifuges are typically classified as allowing greater than 100,000 g.
Instrumentation section
Sucrose gradients are typically used for separation of cellular organelles.
Lead section
An ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as 100 000 g (approx. 1 000 km/s²).
Lede, instrument class
An ultracentrifuge is a specialized, high-speed centrifuge capable of spinning samples at far greater rotational speeds than an ordinary laboratory centrifuge, generating extremely powerful centrifugal forces that can separate very small particles, such as viruses, proteins and subcellular organelles, or that can be used to directly measure the size, shape, density and molecular weight of dissolved macromolecules through the way they migrate or reach equilibrium under that force.
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