Module C

Describe the object

A centrifuge is a machine that spins tubes at high speeds in order to separate the parts of a liquid. For example, blood is put into the centrifuge in order to acquire plasma.

Trace the history of its invention

While density-based separators have existed since the 1400s to separate milk, it was only in 1800 when the centrifuge became commercially available. In order to separate milk and cream, Antonin Prandtl created the first centrifuge-like contraption in 1864.

However, the first use of the centrifuge in laboratory context was in 1869– Swiss physician and biologist Friedrich Miescher used it to separate nucleic acids from the nuclei of white blood cells.

In 1879, Gustaf de Laval developed the first continuous centrifugal separator (initially an impulse steam turbine). In the 1920s, Swedish chemist Theodor Svedberg created the ultracentrifuge, which had a much higher weight capacity than other centrifuges. French physicist Emile Henriot then improved on this by increasing its rotational speed with compressed air.

In the 1930s, Martin Behrens could isolate cell structures, and the work of Robert Bensley and Normand Hoerr could produce mitochondrial fractions with the centrifuge. Combining the efforts of these three, cell fractionation was refined.

There were many improvements, but the most important was in 1962, when the German company Netheler & Hinz Medizintechnik invented the first microcentrifuge— leading to the prevalence of centrifuges in laboratories today.

The importance of the instrument in my field of discipline

Without the centrifuge, it would be difficult to isolate certain components of various specimens, especially blood. Many different laboratory tests need serum or plasma as a specimen, and we would not be able to acquire that without the centrifuge. Without those tests, there would be many illnesses that are difficult to detect, and the workings of the blood would still be shrouded in mystery.

Share my vision of the equipment in the future

While I cannot say that I know what improvements will be made to the centrifuge in the future, I do know that it will continue to be relevant in all sorts of laboratories. Perhaps improvements will be made to its rotational speed, or more precise cell fractioning? There might even be the development of cameras for centrifuges, where you can examine the layers closely while they are separated by density.