Constructing A DIY Centrifuge For Blood Processing

If you wish to do sure varieties of lab work with blood, you’ll want a centrifuge. It’s usually doable to seek out serviceable items on the used market, however they could not meet your necessities for those who’re doing one thing fairly particular. For that purpose, [Thomas Nguyen] decided to build his own centrifuge from scratch.

His purpose was to separate T cells from blood for additional lab evaluation, and he wanted to have the ability to work with blood in 15 mL conical tubes. Capable centrifuges weren’t reasonably priced, however he figured he may construct his personal fairly simply. To that finish, he enlisted a Raspberry Pi Pico, a 3D printer, and an A2212 brushless motor with a 30 amp digital pace controller.

Soon sufficient, he had a design for a fixed-angle centrifuge design that might spin up blood merchandise to the required pace for separation. It has helpful security options, like an MPU-6050 for vibration detection to close down in case of harmful imbalance, and an IR sensor for monitoring and controlling rotational pace. For now, the challenge remains to be in growth, with the primary model constructed and spinning. [Thomas] goals to verify that the construct operates safely and may separate fluids like dyed water and glycerol efficiently earlier than operating it with actual blood merchandise.

We’ve seen other successful DIY centrifuge builds before, too. Sometimes, the lab {hardware} you want is the lab {hardware} you construct your self. If it really works and does the job safely, it may be all that it’s essential to get your science targets coming to fruition.