OPS Diagnostics' 2.8 mm Stainless Steel Pre-Filled Tubes may be used to lyse a wide variety of samples, including soft animal tissues (liver, brain), fibrous animal tissues (muscle, heart, lung), plant leaf and stem samples, and fungal thalli (e.g., mushrooms).
The grinding balls have been used in the homogenization of mouse brains for HPLC-MS/MS analysis to investigate how different methods of nicotine administration affect the ability of female and male mice to discriminate nicotine from saline. Mouse lung samples have been homogenized using 2.8 mm Stainless Steel Grinding Balls for the detection of viral RNA as well as for the extraction and analysis of mouse hair corticosterone. They have also been used in the extraction of DNA from mucosal and submucosal samples from resected intestinal tissues from Crohn's disease and controls for sequencing. RNA extractions from human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were also performed using these grinding balls. In entomology, these grinding balls are used to homogenize Drosophila flies and cockroaches for RNA extractions and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT- qPCR) to investigate whether these domestic insects can mechanically transmit SARS-CoV-2.
Stainless steel grinding balls are resistant to tarnishing and may be retrieved with a magnet. Stainless steel is a very dense grinding medium, and small 2.8 mm can be used with 2 ml disruption tubes to effectively homogenize resilient tissues. All of OPS Diagnostics’ grinding balls and satellites are ready-to-use, having been treated to remove residual oils and contaminants prior to packaging.
Pre-Filled Tubes are a convenient solution for labs seeking time savings by no longer requiring researchers to weigh, fill and QC individual tubes. They are available in 2 mL skirted (i.e., self-standing) or unskirted polypropylene tubes to ensure compatibility with most tube homogenizers. Clear screw caps with O-rings included.
Citations
Chiodini, R. J., Dowd, S. E., Barron, J. N., Galandiuk, S., Davis, B., & Glassing, A. Transitional and temporal changes in the mucosal and submucosal intestinal microbiota in advanced Crohn’s disease of the terminal ileum. Journal of Medical Microbiology/Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2018, 67(4), 549–559. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000690 (Certain bacterial families penetrate the mucosal surfaces and are present in the submucosal tissues at different stages of Crohn’s disease)
Cummings, C. O.; Hill, N. J.; Puryear, W. B.; Rogers, B.; Mukherjee, J.; Leibler, J. H.; Rosenbaum, M. H.; Runstadler, J. A. Evidence of Influenza A in Wild Norway Rats (Rattus Norvegicus) in Boston, Massachusetts. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 2019, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00036. (The study found that 11.04% of the trapped rats tested positive for influenza A virus using RT-PCR, with the highest prevalence occurring in the winter months)
Devaiah, S. P.; Requesens, D. V.; Chang, Y.-K.; Hood, K. R.; Flory, A.; Howard, J. A.; Hood, E. E. Heterologous Expression of Cellobiohydrolase II (Cel6A) in Maize Endosperm. Transgenic Res 2013, 22 (3), 477–488. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-012-9659-2. (Expressing Cel6A in maize endosperm can effectively produce active cellulase enzymes)
Erickson, R. L.; Browne, C. A.; Lucki, I. Hair Corticosterone Measurement in Mouse Models of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Physiology & Behavior 2017, 178, 166–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.01.018. (Hair corticosterone levels can act as a dependable indicator of chronic stress in diabetic mice)
Lang, M., Nagy, O., Lang, C., & Orgogozo, V. High throughput preparation of fly genomic DNA in 96-well format using a paint-shaker. 2017. Fly, 9(3), 138–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2015.1137401 (This method provides a scalable and affordable alternative to commercial homogenizers for high-throughput genomic DNA extraction)
Ledo, A. M., Senra, A., Rilo-Alvarez, H., Borrajo, E., Vidal, A., Alonso, M. J., & Garcia-Fuentes, M.. mRNA-activated matrices encoding transcription factors as primers of cell differentiation in tissue engineering. 2020. Biomaterials, 247, 120016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120016 (mRNA-activated matrices can effectively reprogram adult cells into a stem cell-like state)
Lefever, T. W.; Thomas, B. F.; Kovach, A. L.; Snyder, R. W.; Wiley, J. L. Route of Administration Effects on Nicotine Discrimination in Female and Male Mice. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2019, 204, 107504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.06.007. (Female and male mice can discriminate nicotine when administered subcutaneously, but females show less sensitivity and greater variability)
Pallares, L. F.; Picard, S.; Ayroles, J. F. TM3’seq: A Tagmentation-Mediated 3’ Sequencing Approach for Improving Scalability of RNA-Seq Experiments. bioRxiv 2019, 585810. https://doi.org/10.1101/585810. (This technique employs Tn5 transposase to prepare 3’-enriched libraries, enabling the efficient processing of numerous samples at a significantly lower cost compared to commercial kits)
Roundy, C.M.; Hamer, S.A.; Zecca, I.B.; Davila, E.B.; Auckland, L.D.; Tang, W.; Gavranovic, H.; Swiger, S.L.; Tomberlin, J.K; Fischer, R.S.B.; Pauvolid-Corrêa,A,; Hamer, G.L.No Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Flies or Cockroaches in Households Where COVID-19 Positive Cases Resided, Journal of Medical Entomology, Volume 59, Issue 4, July 2022, Pages 1479–1483, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjac055 (The study found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in flies or cockroaches collected from households with confirmed COVID-19 cases)
