3 mm Acid Washed Zirconium Beads, 300 gm

Zirconium 3.0 mm acid-washed beads are suitable for homogenizing larger tissues where cells are more easily ruptured.  These 3 mm zirconium beads are routinely used on animal (e.g., mouse hypothalamus) and human tissue for nucleic acid extraction and protein isolation.  They’ve been used to study necroptosis (a recently described form of programmed cell death) and to identify targets for treatment of atherosclerosis. In plants, root tissues are homogenized with beads to detect and measure the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi using DNA extracts, thus increasing the efficiency of determining levels of root colonization.  Generally, the beads are useful to roughly homogenize plant and animal tissues for a wide array of applications.

Tougher than silica, less expensive than stainless steel, and inert, zirconium beads are a good choice for bead beating.  Beads are washed with acidified water to remove contaminants found in untreated beads (e.g., dust, microbes, hair), and further baked to remove any organic impurities.