NEUROPIXELS 1.0 USER MANUAL V1.0.5
41
•
Store the probes in the black ESD safe shipping boxes at room temperature.
Follow these cleaning guidelines:
•
Strong oxidizing agents (acids, bases, H
2
O
2
, etc) and/or elevated temperatures (>100 °C) should
be avoided as these may irreversibly deteriorate the TiN electrode impedance and thus noise.
•
The following solvents and solutions have been tested and are safe to use with Neuropixels
probes (no other organic solvents should be used):
o
Deionized water (DIW)
15
at room temperature
o
Iso-propyl alcohol (IPA)
o
Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) @ pH 7.4
(https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-
aldrich/docs/Sigma/Datasheet/pbs1dat.pdf)
o
25 mM MOPS (3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid)
(http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/m1254?lang=en®ion=BE),
150 mM NaCl, DI water, pH adjusted w/ NaOH and HCl
o
100 mM MES (2-ethanesulfonic acid)
(http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/fluka/69889?lang=en®ion=BE),
150 mM NaCl, DI water, pH adjusted w/ NaOH and HCl
o
Tergazyme
(http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/z273287?lang=en®ion=BE
)
•
When performing experiments in PBS, avoid submersing the electric components into the PBS.
While coated with a conformal coating, full hermeticity cannot be guaranteed. Immediately
rinse with DIW and IPA and re-test the probe.
•
After use in PBS, always rinse the probes (including the electrical components) under a gentle
DIW stream or in a beaker for 1-2 minutes followed by IPA rinsing for 1-2 minutes. Do not use
a high-pressure water or IPA stream. After IPA rinsing, you can let the probes dry in air. The use
of IPA is not mandatory but advised.
•
Avoid leaving the probes dry out after removal from PBS. Salt crystals may form on the shank
and TiN electrodes that are difficult to remove.
•
Always use fresh solutions, i.e. don't use beakers with DIW, IPA, or PBS after prolonged exposure
to air (~1/2 day) since dust particles on the liquid surface may irreversible attach to the shank
surface when immersed or rinsed with these solutions.
•
After in-vivo use, soak the dirty probes in PBS until ready to clean them. Letting the shank dry
out makes the cleaning less effective. Follow these cleaning steps:
o
Prepare 1% Tergazyme solution.
o
Soak explanted probes in standard PBS (pH 7.4) until cleaning w/ Tergazyme (to prevent
drying out).
o
Immerse probes in Tergazyme solution @ RT (12h soaking on shelf).
o
Thoroughly rinse with DIW (~5 min under gentle DIW stream); if soaking in DIW is used,
a brief rinse with DIW should be applied at the end.
o
Rinse the probes with IPA and let dry in air.
Store the probes in the black ESD safe shipping boxes at room temperature.
15
Rinsing or prolonged soaking of Neuropixels probes in DIW (pH
≈
5.7) does not deteriorate the TiN impedance; if anything, the
impedance slightly decreases after prolonged soaking (likely due to improved wetting). DIW degassing is not needed.
