Automated tissue disintegration system

A disposable disintegrator has been developed allowing for automated mechanical homogenization of tissue. The system integrates the uptake of a sample, standardized homogenization, and sample left-over disposal. Also, the device minimizes the risk of cross contamination. Of particular interest may be the application of the tissue-disintegrator for molecular diagnostic purposes. It was shown that RNA can be gained from mouse liver samples by applying the automated disintegrator. Yields and quality of RNA were determined in comparison to rotor-stator-homogenization, which was performed by an Ultra-Turrax.