Topic: Centrifugation.

How is the principle of centrifugation helpful in blood banks?

Do you know that jelly is a colloidal solution?

A colloidal solution is a solution whose particles neither dissolve nor settle down.

Another example of a colloidal solution is blood.

Blood consists of various components like red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma, etc.

Which neither dissolve nor settle down.

Usually, in blood banks, when a blood sample needs to be tested, its components have to be separated.

So, how can we separate those components?

What do you think?

Can we use a filtration technique to separate various components of blood?

No, filtration is not useful because the size of the components of blood is so small.

That they can easily pass through the filter paper.

Similar to this merry go round.

A machine called centrifuge is used in blood banks to separate blood components.

In the centrifuge machine, a test tube filled with a blood sample is rotated at a constant high speed.

This process is called centrifugation.

Centrifugation is based on centripetal acceleration.

Due to centripetal acceleration, the heavier components, that is, the red blood cells move outwards.

The white blood cells and platelets which are lighter than red blood cells form the middle layer.

Plasma being the lightest moves towards the center.

In this way, components of blood get separated by the principle of centrifugation.

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