Evaluating the Reproducibility of Protein Extraction from Hard Tissues Using the Bead Ruptor 12 Homogenizer

In the following application, rat tissue was homogenized using the Omni Bead Ruptor 12 followed by protein quantification via spectrophotometry and visualization on SDS-PAGE. Studies targeted at the analysis of proteins, nucleic acids, and small molecules typically start with a homogenization step to liberate the analytes of interest. Increasing amounts of data suggest that experimental variability and analytical sensitivity is in large part determined by differences in the extraction efficiencies of analytes through the homogenization process1. This is particularly true when studies involve large sample numbers, which represent not only an analysis bottleneck but an increased opportunity for error propagation. Here we evaluate the potential for an automated homogenization system to increase sample throughput and improve reproducibility by comparing two automated homogenization technologies to the widespread approach of hand held rotor stator based homogenization.