Qsonica | Ultrasonic Cell Disruptor (Sonicator)

Inquiry ()

Qsonica | Ultrasonic Cell Disruptor (Sonicator)

Definition of the Sonicator

Ultrasound is defined by the American National Standards Institute as "sound at frequencies greater than 20 kHz". In air at atmospheric pressure, ultrasonic waves have wavelengths of 1.9 cm or less.

The History of Sound Wave

In 1794, echolocation in bats was discovered by Lazzaro Spallanzani, when he demonstrated that bats hunted and navigated by inaudible sound, not vision.

In 1893, Francis Galton invented the Galton whistle, an adjustable whistle that produced ultrasound, which he used to measure the hearing range of humans and other animals, demonstrating that many animals could hear sounds above the hearing range of humans.

In 1948, Elias Klein wrote the history of ultrasound. According to the article, during the First World War, a Russian engineer named Chilowski submitted an idea for submarine detection to the French Government. The latter invited Paul Langevin, then Director of the School of Physics and Chemistry in Paris, to evaluate it. Chilowski's proposal was to excite a cylindrical, mica condenser by a high-frequency Poulsen arc at approximately 100 kHz and thus to generate an ultrasound beam for detecting submerged objects.

In 1880, The brothers Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie demonstrate the first direct piezoelectric effect. They combined their knowledge of pyroelectricity with their understanding of the underlying crystal structures that gave rise to pyroelectricity to predict crystal behavior, and demonstrated the effect using crystals of tourmaline, quartz, topaz, cane sugar, and Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate tetrahydrate). Quartz and Rochelle salt exhibited the most piezoelectricity.

In 1917, Paul Langevin and his coworkers developed an ultrasonic submarine detector in France. The detector consisted of a transducer, made of thin quartz crystals carefully glued between two steel plates, and a hydrophone to detect the returned echo.

Principle of sonicator

Cavitation

Ultrasonic cavitation inception will occur when the acceleration of the ultrasound source is enough to produce the needed pressure drop. This pressure drop depends on the value of the acceleration and the size of the affected volume by the pressure wave. The dimensionless number that predicts ultrasonic cavitation is the Garcia-Atance number. High power ultrasonic horns produce accelerations high enough to create a cavitating region that can be used for homogenization, dispersion, deagglomeration, erosion, cleaning, milling, emulsification, extraction, disintegration, and sonochemistry.

Nanoparticle Dispersion

High shear forces created by ultrasonic cavitation have the ability to break up particle agglomerates and result in smaller and more uniform particles sizes. The stable and homogenous suspensions produced by ultrasonics are widely used in many industries today. Probe sonication is highly effective for processing nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, inks, metal oxides, etc.) and Sonicators have become the industry standard for:

Dispersing
Deagglomerating
Particle size reduction
Particle synthesis and precipitation
Surface functionalization

Cell Disruption and Proteomics

sonicators have been used to lyse many types of cells: mammalian cell culture, yeast, algae, bacteria, and more. Even gram-positive bacteria with their tough cell walls can be readily lysed with the powerful ultrasonic energy of a Sonicator. The ultrasonic energy output of each Sonicator model is adjustable and sonication parameters can be optimized according to your process requirements. Amplitude (intensity) can be lowered in order to gently process fragile cells, prevent organelles from being damaged or decrease degradation of enzymes. Amplitude can also be increased to powerful levels to process difficult cell types.

Emulsification

Emulsification is one of the most common applications of Sonicators. The powerful ultrasonic forces created by Sonicators can produce a homogenous emulsion from two normally immiscible liquids through extreme particle-size reduction. Emulsions of nanoscale particles, often referred to as nanoemulsions, can be produced, providing the maximum possible stability and consistency.

By producing acoustic cavitation – the rapid formation and collapse of air bubbles in the system - Sonicators create powerful hydro-mechanical shear forces and promote the release of reactive radicals. These powerful forces break apart particles, thus promoting emulsion.

Tissue Homogenization

Ultrasonic homogenizers make use of the ultrasonic waves generated by a piezoelectric crystal. When a certain voltage is applied to the crystal, the ultrasonic waves are transmitted through water or air, leading to cavitation which in turn leads to the generation of forces on nearby surfaces. These powerful forces homogenize tissues, breaking apart connective tissues , lysing cells, and releasing cellular contents which may then be purified and utilized in a wide range of downstream analyses.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

SUNWAY official website : https://www.sun-way.com.tw/

Tel : 02-27718337

Fax : 02-27414646

SUNWAY official E-mail address : mrkt@sun-way.com.tw

Back