Effective nucleic acid extraction begins with effective cell lysis, and some sample types — soil, biofilms, plant tissue, tough microbial cells — resist standard chemical and enzymatic lysis methods. Two new instruments address this challenge:

The Omni International Bead Ruptor 24 Elite provides mechanical disruption using optimized bead-beating protocols. It processes up to 24 samples simultaneously with programmable speed, time, and temperature control.

The Branson 450 Digital Sonifier uses ultrasonic energy for cell disruption and is particularly effective for liquid samples and suspensions where bead beating is not appropriate.

These instruments improve our DNA and RNA extraction yields from challenging sample types and allow us to offer a broader range of environmental and industrial microbiology projects with confidence.