Continuous flow tissue homogenizer

A continuous flow tissue homogenizer for subcellular organelle isolation comprising:

• (a) a container member having a generally cylindrical tissue homogenization chamber, said container having an inlet opening at one end thereof, and an outlet continuously open at the opposite end thereof;
• (b) a pestle member disposed within said chamber and dividing said chamber into a first chamber into which said inlet opens and a second chamber into which said outlet is continuously open, said pestle member having a rotational axis and an outer surface spaced apart from the inner side wall of said container member to provide fluid communication between said first and second chambers, said pestle member having a first tissue feed portion proximate said first chamber and a tissue disruption portion proximate said second chamber, said tissue feed portion provided with a plurality of grooves circumferentially spaced about the outer surface of said pestle member, each of said grooves opening into and extending from said first chamber to said tissue disruption portion, each of said grooves having a depth that gradually decreases from said first chamber to said tissue disruption portion to draw tissue into a tissue disruption zone defined by the clearance between said tissue disruption portion and said inner side wall;
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• (c) means for rotatably driving said pestle member about its rotational axis to gently shear cell membranes and isolate large quantities of organelles.

A continuous flow tissue homogenizer for subcellular organelle isolation comprising:

• (a) a tubular housing defining a tissue homogenizing chamber, said housing having first and second ends and a continuous smooth inner side wall therebetween, said first end having an inlet for introduction of non-homogenized tissue and said second end having an outlet continuously open for the discharge of homogenized tissue;
• (b) a cylindrical pestle member disposed within said housing and adjustably positioned along an elongation axis of said tubular housing, said pestle member having a smooth outer surface cooperating with said continuous side wall for tissue disruption therebetween, said cylindrical pestle member rotatable about an axis aligned with the elongation axis of said housing;
• (c) means for rotatably driving said cylindrical pestle member whereby said outer surface and said inner side wall cooperate to gently shear cell membranes to isolate large quantities of organelles;
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• (d) said outer surface of said pestle member and said inner side wall of said tubular housing spaced apart to shear cell membranes without damage to organelles.