A new press for the disruption of micro‐organisms and other cells

Abstract

A new press (the X-press) has been developed for the disintegration of cells in the frozen state (mostly at −25°C). By forcing the frozen cells contained in a cylinder through a hole much smaller than the diameter of the cylinder but much larger than the size of the cells, a satisfactory disintegration can be obtained. By forcing the cells through the hole repeatedly rather than once, a higher degree of disintegration can be achieved. By making the receiver identical to the charge chamber, repeated operations are possible without uncoupling the press. The disintegrated material is very easily recovered—it is simply taken out of the press in the form of a cylinder containing the frozen, disintegrated material which is then easily homogenized. This principle has been found satisfactory for the disintegration of a large number of cells, viz. bacteria, yeasts, moulds, plant and animal cells and, with regard to biochemical questions, it has been found to be superior to existing methods which do not treat the bacteria in the frozen state. The mechanism of the disintegrating action is discussed.