Centrifuge that adjusts the amount of supernatant liquid that is discharged

Abstract

In a cell washing centrifuge for washing living cells such as blood cells, control of the remaining amount of a supernatant according to the related art greatly depends on controlling the rotation speed of a motor, and thus a highly accurate motor control part is required to prevent overshooting or the like. In place of the related art, an easy control method is required. In the discharging of a supernatant discharge by a centrifuge having a plurality of test tube holders that can radially swing through centrifugal force, a holding part using an electromagnet that can control the swinging of the test tube holders, and a cleaning liquid distribution element that supplies a cleaning liquid into a test tube, a first decanting operation ({circle around (3)}-1) is performed by rotating a rotor in the order of acceleration, settling, and deceleration in a state in which the agitating angle of the test tube is restricted and discharging the supernatant of the cleaning liquid from the test tube, and a second decanting operation ({circle around (3)}-2) is performed, at a time of a final decanting operation, by accelerating the rotor, releasing restriction on the agitating angle during the acceleration, and then decelerating the rotor.