Hey John,<div>For a heavily used instrument (ours run almost everyday and we save the long runs to go over the weekends) 6 months is about right. The pneumatics just wear out over time.</div><div><br></div><div>That said, there are things that can be done to extend them a bit. Regular cleaning helps, but overcleaning detracts. We tend to watch the quality of our blank injections and when they start to take on more significant amplitude or shape we clean with both the regular desorb but also the sanitize procedure. Sanitize is important if you're doing small molecule work as SDS and glycine don't do anything to compound deposits.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Magnesium buildup can occur and various people will have different solutions to that...often we'll just leave the instrument in standby over a weekend in a low pH acetate with high EDTA and 10% DMSO to dissolve off metal deposits.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Other things that can help: Don't redock chips...taking a chip out of the machine, storing, and putting it back, are great ways to introduce dust. Properly filtered buffers (to remove particles) can also help prolong, and making sure you don't put reducing agents in buffers containing carrier proteins like BSA can help reduce particulate content. DMSO also helps keep things clean.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Also make sure you're using syringes that don't have plastic on the plungers...the old style had plastic coating that flecked off and got into the fluidics...the new ones are just stainless steel. Even that does rust so make sure the syringes are really clean and spotless.</div>
<div><br></div><div>If you're using plates make sure you're using the Biacore-supplied plate covers. They went through a lot of rounds of testing different plate covers and those are the only ones that won't get glue or small flecks of metal into the fluidics.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Hope that helps...your local support scientist (who should be Jason Schuman I believe) may have additional thoughts for you.</div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div>Tony</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 4:34 PM, jpsumida <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jpsumida@u.washington.edu">jpsumida@u.washington.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<u></u>
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Dear RASMB,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">I have a question about our spr instrument. I
realize this is primarily an AUC list but perhaps there are individuals who work
with this instrument that may be able to provide some advice.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">The IFC in our instrument fails like clockwork
every six to seven months. Very little information is provided by the
vendor about why this is occurring except that it is expected to fail every six
to nine months.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">This is an expensive part to replace, and I'm
wondering if anyone has had a similar experience, and whether or not people
have attempted a work-around to avoid having to spend 6k every six months to
replace this part.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Any advice is appreciated and thank you in advance
for your attention.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">John Sumida<br>University of
Washington.</font></div></div>
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