Homogenizers

Homogenisers are a piece of laboratory equipment for the homogenisation of various types of materials such as tissue, plant, food and soil. A substance is taken and it is made of uniform consistency. In pharmaceutical laboratories, this process is also called micronisation. Particles are reduced under high pressure, sheer, turbulence acceleration and impact; this technique is considered to be more stable and clinically effective. High pressure homogenisers work with a cylinder and may include an impact ring with which the suspension will collide. This high pressure technique acts as a mixer or blender and are often preferred to conventional stirrers, rotor-stator devices or colloid mills. Ultrasonic homogenisers use shear fore, high temperatures and pressures. The agitating grinder is an example of a mechanical homogeniser while more recent devices include the low-pressure rotary and sonic vibrators. Bead mills crush the material or sample down to small particles which means it is highly destructive and can only be done to larger samples. Scientists and researchers sometimes use homogenisers to create a single aggregate sample which is representative of an entire group and is useful for medical and genetic research. Tissue is homogenised and run through microarrays to determine normal and pathological tissues.