A host of fractionation procedures are employed by cell biologists. Each organelle has characteristics (size, shape and density for example) which make it different from other organelles within the same cell. If the cell is broken open in a gentle manner, each of its organelles can be subsequently isolated.
The process of breaking open cells is homogenization and the subsequent isolation of organelles is fractionation. Isolating the organelles requires the use of physical chemistry techniques, and those techniques can range from the use of simple sieves, gravity sedimentation or differential precipitation, to ultracentrifugation of fluorescent labeled organelles in computer generated density gradients.
hamptonlab.ucsd.edu/Protocols/membranefract.htm
The idea is to break open cells without any detergents, and to take advantage of different sedimentation properties of membrane fractions and soluble ...
Protocols- Cell Organelle Protocols > Subcellular Fractionation ...]
www.molecularstation.com/...fractionation.../membrane-isolation-...
Find protocols and information related to membrane isolation.
Detergent-free sucrose gradient membrane fractionation Stack Lab ...
www.stackscientific.com/.../detergent_free_sucrose_gradient_cell_
Detergent-free sucrose gradient membrane fractionation. Stack Lab. *** The whole process should be done on ice! 1. Wash the cells twice with ice-cold PBS ...
Fractionation of mammalian blood
www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/studies/sds-page/gellab1.html
Overview: [membrane organization] [overview of the study ] [research paper] Part 1: [components of blood] [blood and red cell fractionation] ...