Basics in Centrifugation - Calculating relative centrifugal force and selecting a centrifuge and rotors

Floor-standing centrifuges free up bench space but do need at least one square meter of lab floor space. They are a good choice for high-speed or high-capacity protocols. Among floor-standing centrifuges, choices include ultracentrifuges, high-speed centrifuges, and low-speed centrifuges. An ultracentrifuge is a device for exceptionally high speed, being capable of generating ultra-high centrifugal force. These refrigerated centrifuges have an evacuated chamber to enable a rotational speed of up to 150,000 rpm. The g-force is about 300,000 to 1,000,000 × g. Special vessels that are placed within the rotor or attached to a special rotor are necessary. When g-forces of 40,000 to 60,000 × g are needed, super-speed floor-standing centrifuges are to be used. Low-speed floor-standing devices are generally used for applications like cell culture or blood with less than 10,000 rcf as the maximum g-force.