How do scientists remove the nucleus from a plant and animal cell?
The major difference between plant and animal cells in this context is the cell wall. But the plant cell wall can be removed to create a protoplast cell. Protoplast and animal cell enucleation is pretty much the same. There are several methods that have been developed. Which one is used depends on the type of work that is being done. Individual cells can be enucleated by using a very fine needle to suck the nucleus out of the cell. Centrifugation methods have been developed where the cell is attached to a surface and spun until the nucleus is pulled out of the cell. Other centrifugation methods depend on the different density of the cytoplasm and the nucleus to separate the two in a method analogous to cell fractionation. The hard part in all these methods is keeping the cell intact after the nucleus (or the needle) tears a hole in the membrane getting out. If you want a detailed protocol, you really need to delve into the primary literature. Many of these methods were developed back i
