There are many methods of cell disruption among which the mechanical methods of bead mill and high pressure homogenizer are used not only in laboratory but also in industry. Other methods are still in the laboratory, and industrial applications are still being explored.

Now let’s talk about the Bead Milling method of cell disruption.

The Bead Mill is a common equipment for breaking microbial cells. Generally, there are two types of vertical and horizontal. However, the horizontal type is superior to the vertical type in terms of efficiency and productivity. The grinding medium is loaded into the grinding chamber, and the motor drives the rotor to rotate the microorganism at a high speed. The cell suspension and the small grinding ball generate shearing force to break the cells. In the process of crushing cells by sanding, the influencing factors are as follows:

1) Tip speed: the rotor speed increases, the shear force increases, the cell breakage increases, but the high energy consumption, high heat generation and wear of the grinding ball and product inactivation due to shear force, therefore for a given Under the throughput and release requirements for the protein, there is a point of optimum efficiency at the station. In actual production, the tip speed of the rotor is controlled between 5 and 15 m/s.

2) Cell concentration: During the cell disruption process, the amount of heat generated increases with increasing concentration, increasing the cost of cooling, so the optimal cell concentration is determined experimentally. When ELE’s bead mill EDW-15 was used to grind and break yeast or bacteria, the cell concentration was controlled at about 40%.

3) Media Size and loading of grinding media

The smaller the grinding media, the faster the cell breaks. However, the grinding ball is too small to float and it is difficult to stay in the grinding chamber. Therefore, in the experimental scale sander, the ball diameter is preferably 0.2 mm. In industrial scale operation, the ball diameter is >0.4 mm, and different cells should be Choose a different ball diameter. The loading amount of the grinding medium also affects the crushing effect, and is generally controlled between 80% and 85%, and varies with the size of the ball.

4) Temperature The operating temperature control has little effect on the broken material in the range of 5~40. However, heat accumulation occurs during the grinding process. In order to control the temperature inside the grinding chamber, a cooling jacket is designed outside the grinding chamber, and the temperature of the chamber is adjusted by cooling water, and the ELE EDW-15 is also designed at the front end of the discharge. Cool the cavity for better cooling.

Above all, bead milling is a better method for the cell disruption, Choose ELE bead mill , Choose the suitable bead mill for you!