Make a lab centrifuge out of a salad spinner

Forget the laboratory supply store, you can score a centrifuge on late-night TV!

I recently visited a lab that had a salad spinner on their lab bench and at first I wondered if they were putting together a salad lunch there but when I took a peek I got a nice surprise. It turns out that the salad spinner was actually a bench top, “minifuge” version of a plate centrifuge.

What a great idea I thought. A cheap, quick-to-build plate centrifuge that also worked pretty well for a quick spin just before PCR. So, we tried to built one in my lab and we loved it so much that we now have one sitting near almost EVERY PCR plate instrument, and have even gifted a couple to others!

Thanks, Abizar!

There are lots more science tutorials, lab experiments, and resources available in the Make: Science Room.