[RASMB] Interference optics problem

[Chad Brautigam]

Dear Paul,

This sounds like it could be a signal-to-noise issue-- in other words, you have a lot of noise.  Our instruments exhibited similar symptoms when we had oil collecting on the condenser lens in optical path.  You might want to check that or the filter that sits directly over the lens.  If those become dirty, they add a lot of noise to the fringe pattern.  If oil is on the condenser lens proper, I would have a Beckman tech look at that.

I can't rule out some kind of misalignment, but I haven't hear the folks in DC (nearer the epicenter) making any complaints about this.

Good luck,
Chad




-----Original Message-----
From: rasmb-bounces at rasmb.bbri.org [mailto:rasmb-bounces at rasmb.bbri.org] On Behalf Of Paul Leonard
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 8:15 AM
To: rasmb at rasmb.bbri.org
Subject: [RASMB] Interference optics problem

Hi,

I am hoping one of you may be able to help me. We have seen a significant
drop in our interference optics detection signal and we are getting jumps
in the data (as if shifting to a different baseline) at several places
across the cell sample volume.

We think that the problem could have arisen because the AUC was running
during an earthquake. The earthquake was not that strong here but you
certainly felt it and every AUC run since has generated unusable
interference data.

We are wondering if something has been knocked or become mis-aligned and
were thinking that we could try readjusting the mirrors for the
interference optics to see if we can increase the signal. However we
haven't been able to find instructions in the manual for what exactly we
should be looking for when we do this.

Can anyone help?

If you have any other suggestions for any other things that could have
gone wrong and possible ways to diagnose and fix the problem I would be
very grateful to hear them.

best wishes

Paul


Department of Biochemistry
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine
679 Hoes Lane
Piscataway
New Jersey 08854-5627

Phone: (732) 235-4206
Email: leonard at cabm.rutgers.edu

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