A homogenizer is a piece of laboratory or industrial equipment used for the homogenization of various types of material, such as tissue, plant, food, soil, and many others. Many different models have been developed using various physical technologies for disruption. The 'mortar and pestle', already used for thousands of years, is a standard tool even in modern laboratories. More modern solutions are based on blender type of instruments (also known in the kitchen), bead mills, ultrasonic treatment (also sonication), rotor-stator mechanical, high pressure, and many other physical forces.Cell fractionation is done by homogenizer to release the organelles from cell.
Whereas older technologies just focused on the disruption of the material, newer technologies also address quality or environmental aspects, such as cross-contamination, aerosols, risk of infection, or noise.
Homogenization is a very common sample preparation step prior to the analysis of nucleic acids, proteins, cells, metabolism, pathogens, and many other targets.