Homogenization (biology)

In histopathology, pathologic homogenization is seen as a loss of variations, such as of collagen in lichen sclerosus (pictured).

Homogenization, in cell biology or molecular biology, is a process whereby different fractions of a biological sample become equal in composition. It can be a disease sign in histopathology, or an intentional process in research: A homogenized sample is equal in composition throughout, so that removing a fraction does not alter the overall molecular make-up of the sample remaining, and is identical to the fraction removed. Induced homogenization in biology is often followed by molecular extraction and various analytical techniques, including ELISA and western blot.[1]

  1. ^ Schmidt SD, Nixon RA, Mathews PM (2012). "Tissue Processing Prior to Analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Associated Proteins and Metabolites, Including Aβ". Amyloid Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 849. pp. 493–506. doi:10.1007/978-1-61779-551-0_33. ISBN 978-1-61779-550-3. PMID 22528111.