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A mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The mortar ( / ˈ m ɔːr t ər / ) is characteristically a bowl, typically made of hardwood, metal, ceramic , or hard stone such as granite .
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 instruments, bead mills , ultrasonic treatment (also sonication ), rotor-stator mechanical, high pressure, and many other physical forces.
Using a nonporous ceramic mortar and pestle, a small quantity of the solid sample is ground up until the sample is exceedingly fine and has a glassy appearance. A drop of the mulling agent is added to the ground solid in the mortar. The mixture is further ground up until a uniform paste with the consistency of toothpaste is acquired.
Pharmacist compounding a medication using a mortar and pestle (c. 1923). In the field of pharmacy, compounding (performed in compounding pharmacies) is preparation of custom medications to fit unique needs of patients that cannot be met with mass-produced products.
The solid-state reaction route is the most widely used method for the preparation of polycrystalline solids from a mixture of solid starting materials. Solids do not react together at room temperature over normal time scales and it is necessary to heat them to much higher temperatures, often to 1000 to 1500 °C, in order for the reaction to occur at an appreciable rate.
Grinding, both heat and liquid-assisted, is employed to produce cocrystal, e.g., using a mortar and pestle, using a ball mill, ResonantAcoustic mixer, or using a vibratory mill. [13] In liquid-assisted grinding, or kneading, a small or substoichiometric amount of liquid (solvent) is added to the grinding mixture.
Molcajete used to grind spices Molcajete as a food container. Molcajetes are used to crush and grind spices, and to prepare salsas and guacamole.The rough surface of the basalt stone creates a superb grinding surface that maintains itself over time as tiny bubbles in the basalt are ground down, replenishing the textured surface.
The technique can be done by using a mortar and pestle cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures, but use of this classic apparatus is laborious and sample loss is often a concern. Specialised stainless steel pulverizers generically known as Tissue Pulverizers are also available for this purpose.