Laboratory Centrifuge - Centrifuge Tubes

Centrifuge tubes or centrifuge tips are tapered tubes of various sizes made of glass or plastic. They may vary in capacity from tens of millilitres, to much smaller capacities used in microcentrifuges used extensively in molecular biology laboratories. The most commonly encountered tubes are of about the size and shape of a normal test tube (~ 10 cm long). Microcentrifuges typically accommodate microcentrifuge tubes with capacities from 250 μl to 2.0 ml. These are exclusively made of plastic.

Glass centrifuge tubes can be used with most solvents, but tend to be more expensive. They can be cleaned like other laboratory glassware, and can be sterilized by autoclaving. Plastic centrifuge tubes, especially microcentrifuge tubes tend to be less expensive. Water is preferred when plastic centrifuge tubes are used. They are more difficult to clean thoroughly, and are usually inexpensive enough to be considered disposable.

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