Plastic centrifuge tubes generally have PP (polypropylene), PC (polycarbonate), PE (polyethylene) and other materials. PP pipe performance is relatively good. The plastic centrifuge tube is transparent or translucent, which can intuitively see the sample centrifugation, but it is easier to deform and has less corrosion resistance to organic solvents, so the service life is shorter.

PP (polypropylene):

Translucent, good chemical and temperature stability, but will become brittle at low temperature, so do not below 4 ℃ during centrifugation.

PC (polycarbonate):

It has good transparency, high hardness, and can be sterilized at high temperature, but it is not resistant to strong acids and alkalis and some organic solvents such as alcohol. It is mainly used for ultra-high speed centrifugation over 50,000 rpm.

PE (polyethylene):

opaque. It is non-reactive with acetone, acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, etc. It is relatively stable and easily softens at high temperatures.

PA (polyamide):

This material is a polymer of PP and PE material, translucent, very chemically stable, and not resistant to high temperatures.

PS (polystyrene):

Transparent, high hardness, stable to most aqueous solutions, but will be corroded by a variety of organic substances, mostly used for low-speed centrifugation, and is generally disposable.

PF (polyfluoro): translucent, can be used at low temperature, if it is an experimental environment at -100 ℃ -140 ℃, you can use centrifuge tubes of this material.

CAB (butyl acetate cellulose):

It is transparent and can be used for the gradient determination of dilute acids, alkalis, salts, alcohol and sucrose.

Therefore, it is necessary to select experimental consumables with appropriate materials according to different experimental requirements. Otherwise, it may bring about leakage, rupture, etc., loss of valuable experimental samples and sometimes damage to expensive experimental equipment.