Yeasts, phytoplankton, and protists require larger beads for homogenization, such as 400 micron Zirconium Beads. With phytoplankton with calcified shells, such as the coccolithophores, cell lysis is enhanced due to the higher density of zirconium as compared to silica. With molecular biology protocols used for DNA and RNA isolation, beads are a potential source of nuclease and nucleic acid contamination.
The beads are widely used in the DNA extraction of marine protists which led to the development of a precise amplicon sequencing workflow and algal viruses to understand the association between the virus-encoded glycosphingolipids with their virulence. Of particular interest is the bead's recent use in protein extraction of human cell lines in cancer research.
400 micron Molecular Biology Grade Zirconium Beads (Zirconium Silicate) are made from Acid Washed Beads which are further processed by baking. Beads are then packaged aseptically into RNase/DNase-free bottles. Molecular Biology Grade Beads have all the advantages of Acid Washed Beads but with the value of being safe for molecular biology applications.
Citation
Catlett, D., Matson, P. G., Carlson, C. A., Wilbanks, E. G., Siegel, D. A., and Iglesias‐Rodríguez, M. D. 2019. Evaluation of accuracy and precision in an amplicon sequencing workflow for marine protist communities. Limnology and Oceanography, Methods. 18:20–40 (Amplicon sequencing workflow has high precision and reasonable accuracy)
El-Baba, C., Ayache, Z., Goli, M., Hayar, B., Kawtharani, Z., Pisano, C., Kobeissy, F., Mechref, Y., & Darwiche, N. (2023). The antitumor effect of the DNA polymerase alpha inhibitor ST1926 in glioblastoma: A proteomics approach. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241814069 (Global protein expression profiles using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry identified 197 proteins upon ST1926 treatment and induced apoptosis or programmed cell death)
Nissimov, J. I., Talmy, D., Haramaty, L., Fredricks, H. F., Zelzion, E., Knowles, B., Eren, A. M., Vandzura, R., Laber, C. P., Schieler, B. M., Johns, C. T., More, K. D., Coolen, M. J. L., Follows, M., Bhattacharya, D., Van Mooy, B. A. S., & Bidle, K. D. (2019). Biochemical diversity of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis as a driver of Coccolithovirus competitive ecology. Environmental Microbiology, 21(6 pp.2182–2197), 2182–2197. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14633 (The production rate and biochemical diversity of virus-encoded glycosphingolipids were positively correlated with the virulence of the virus, its replication rate, and the dynamics of lytic infection in laboratory settings)
