[RASMB] microbial contamination

[Virgil Schirf]

Dear Chad,

We have, in the past, soaked the windows and centerpieces in 1 M HCl for 
an hour, rinse with milliQ water, and soaked in 1 M NaOH for an hour 
followed by another rinse well to prepare for RNA equilibrium analysis. 
Some people have said that swelling of the centerpieces may occur if you 
soak for too long a period. The windows could also be autoclaved, but 
not the centerpieces. I use an ultrasonic cleaner with a mild detergent 
to routinely clean the windows and centerpieces with excellent results.

Good luck!

Virgil

Chad Brautigam wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> Much to my dismay, I am forced to conclude that one of my 
> centerpiece/window combinations for our analytical ultracentrifuge has 
> become contaminated with some evil microbe.  How do I know?  Well, 
> whatever's in there, it's tearing apart both protein and RNA with 
> gleeful abandon.  On Monday, I had a 27 kDa protein reduced to amino 
> acids in mere hours.  Terrifying!
>
> So I'm wondering how people have defeated these enemies in the past. 
>  I see in the archive that RNAseZap is recommended for killing the 
> RNAses, but I didn't come across anything to kill the hungry bugs.  A 
> little fire would teach them a lesson, but I doubt the centerpiece 
> would tolerate that very well.  I see from the chemical compatibility 
> charts that I could go after the evildoers with acetic (glacial!) or 
> hydrochloric acids.  Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
>
> And please, do not hold back!  I am willing to get extremely medieval 
> on their microscopic butts.  Remember, this isn't about good science 
> anymore- it's about revenge.
>
> With anticipation,
> Chad
>
> ======================================
> Chad A. Brautigam, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Biochemistry
> The University of Texas
> Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
> Department of Biochemistry
> 5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
> Dallas, TX 75390-8816
> Office:  214-645-6384
> Fax:  214-645-6353
> Email:  chad.brautigam at utsouthwestern.edu 
> <mailto:chad.brautigam at utsouthwestern.edu>
>
>
>
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-- 

Virgil Schirf
Technical Director, Center for Macromolecular Interactions 
<http://cmmi.uthscsa.edu>
Department of Biochemistry, Rm 4.523U
The University of Texas Health Science Center
7703 Floyd Curl Dr.
San Antonio TX 78229-3900
Voice mail: 210 567-6590
Fax: 210 567-6595
Email: schirfv at biochem.uthscsa.edu <mailto:schirfv at biochem.uthscsa.edu>