Assorted detergents, salts, and buffers may be employed to encourage lysis of cells and to solubilize proteins. Protease and phosphatase inhibitors are often added to prevent the digestion of the sample by its own enzymes. Tissue preparation is often done at cold temperatures to avoid protein denaturing and degradation.
A combination of biochemical and mechanical techniques – comprising various types of filtration and centrifugation – can be used to separate different cell compartments and organelles.