Adapter for Mixer Mill

thingiverse

This is an adapter for a Mixer Mill to grind tissue (e.g. leaf tissue of plants) in 1.2 mL cluster tubes. I designed and printed this adapter, since the Mixer Mill in our laboratory only comes with adapters for 2 mL tubes. My design allows to process 48 samples at the same time instead of 20 and greatly reduces the amount of work handling individual tubes. I found best results when grinding fresh tissue in buffer (i.e. for DNA extraction). The adapter can also be used for cryogenic grinding (see notes on cryogenic grinding), however the 1.2 mL cluster tubes do break more easily compared to 2 mL tubes. Please exert extreme caution during testing. **Be careful when using this adapter! The 3D printed version may not have the same strength as an adapter from the manufacturer. Always wear safety goggles and test your 3D printed adapter. Start with a low speed and increase carefully.** **Cryogenic grinding: It appears that PLA has good strength when being cooled in liquid nitrogen. However, material failure can easily occur due to differences in 3D printing performance and you should exert extreme caution!**