Biotek MicroFlo select, Operator'S Manual

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How to optimize performance
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MicroFlo Select Microplate Dispenser
How to optimize performance
Prime before dispensing. Priming the tubing is the most critical factor in assuring
optimal performance. You must balance the requirement to prime the tubing with the
desire to preserve expensive reagents.
The
best habit to develop to keep the MicroFlo performing at its best and to preserve
fluids is Purging the fluid at the end of a dispense run and Priming to remove large air
bubbles from the tubing before dispensing. The tubing is permeable to air. When 20
minutes or more has elapsed between dispenses, or less than 20 minutes when using
1µL cassettes, it is important to thoroughly prime the tubing before dispensing.
In addition to purging, you can use the
priming trough insert to capture expensive
reagents for reuse.
Developing good practices like performing all the dispenses required for a certain fluid
in a single session to minimize downtime and the need to prime is recommended.
Other best practices:

Filter the dispense fluid to 50 microns before dispensing with the 1µL cassettes.
The dispense tips are very small. Filtering the fluid helps prevent clogging.

Select the right cassette for the job: match your desired dispense volume to the
recommended cassette. The smallest recommended volume for a cassette type is
one aliquot. An aliquot matches the cassette type, 1µL for the 1µL cassette, 5µL for
the 5µL cassette, and 10µL for 10µL cassette.

Dedicate cassettes for specific fluids
or applications. Reserving specific
cassettes for specific uses avoids contamination.

When the dispenser is idle, release the Tube Tensioner element of the cassette
from its place on the pump to minimize unnecessary stretching of the tubing. This
is especially true for the 1µL tubing. The best practice is to unload the 1µL cassette
when dispensing is completed.

Minimize prime volume or preserve expensive reagents by observing the tubing
during a Prime and stopping its flow as soon as all the large air bubbles are
removed. Pre-dispense primes can use minimum volumes or be skipped when
priming is done immediately before the dispense.

To more quickly dispense to 384- and 1536 -well plates change the dispense
Pattern to Row .
1536-deep-well plates
For users of 1536-well microplates, especially those designed for imaging, with wells
recessed deep within the microplate: you can better position the tips inside the plate, close
to the wells' rims by removing the two outer shields from the Tip Holder and lowering the
Dispense Height.