The answer for rapid dispersal of packed centrifugal pellets in 2.0, 1.5 and 0.5 ml micro-centrifuge tubes. Inspired by a methods paper in BioTechniques, the Tube-Tickler quickly suspends even firmly sedimented or sticky pellets in seconds. Superior to an ordinary tube vortexer, the microtube is held against a specially designed rotating agitator head. The unique slapping action of the agitator head vigorously vibrates and swirls the tube contents. Featuring one hand operation, the Tube-Tickler is activated by light pressure on the top of the mixer.
In another application, the superior mixing energy imparted by the agitator head of the Tube-Tickler makes it significantly more efficient than a standard vortexer mixer when used to disrupt cells by beadbeating (bead milling method). Simply add an equal volume of the appropriate size and kind of beads to the cell or tissue suspension and beadbeat for 2-5 minutes. BioSpec also manufactures faster, more productive machines for beadbeating.