Cell fractionation is a
lab technique which uses a
centrifuge to
separate the contents of a
cell into
fractions, after the
cell has been turned into a cell-free
extract (the contents of the cell after the
cell wall and/or outer
cell membranes have been removed).
Some or all of the information in this writeup was taken from the science dictionary at http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/; I oversaw the development of the dictionary (the website was mothballed in 1998) and believe I wrote the entry this writeup is partly or wholly based upon.