Sample Sonication

Sonication involves the use of sound energy to agitate particles and molecules – singularly or as part of a network – in a fluid or liquid environment. If using frequencies above 20 kHz, this enters the category of ultrasonication. Within standard lab processes, sonication has become an indispensable and accessible tool for those looking for solutions for cell lysis. Sonication-based cell lysis is a durable and reliable technique, which tends to be deployed using either a 1:1 direct-to-sample probe or indirectly via a water bath delivery system. In terms of popular applications, sonication for cell lysis is performed by sonicators – or ultrasonic homogenizers – that can easily disrupt cell layers and cell membranes, making cellular content detectable by standard molecular techniques assessing DNA, RNA, protein, or small molecules.

Sonication and Ultrasonication for Reliable Cell Lysis

For many labs, sample preparation workflows tend to include some type of tissue or cell lysis technology to permit access to nucleic acids or protein, among other biological and chemical analytes, within a cell or tissue. Revvity offers sonicators and probes for sonication and cell disruption into a variety of downstream applications, including DNA- or chromatin-shearing and preparation of protein extracts.