3.3 Best Practices
IMPORTANT:
Read and understand the safety information in
.
For the overall success of the experiment, we recommend the following best practices:
3.3.1 Chip and Control Line Fluid Handling
• Use the chip within 24 hr of opening the foil envelope.
• Inspect the chip for any signs of visible damage before use. Ensure that the barcode label i is intact,
and the chip surfaces are clear of particulates.
• To avoid loss of control line fluid, do not evacuate air from a syringe before injecting control line fluid.
• Avoid bending the syringe tip of the control line fluid.
• Be careful when removing the syringe cap of the control line fluid to prevent drips.
• Before removing the syringe from the accumulator, ensure that all of the control line fluid and air are purged from the
syringe. This is to avoid dripping fluid on the chip surface. Residual control line fluid or air in the syringe tip is normal.
• Control line fluid that occurs on the chip exterior or inlets makes the chip unusable. If this occurs, use a new chip.
• During use, take care to avoid introducing particulates, reagents, and fluids to the chip surface.
3.3.2 Bubble Prevention
• Vortex the 96-well primer and sample plates gently (low speed) but thoroughly (at least 5 sec) to allow all reagents to
mix homogeneously.
• After vortexing the primer and sample mixes, centrifuge them to collect all compounds at the bottoms of the wells
before pipetting into the chip inlets. Failure to do so may result in a decrease in data quality.
• Check the source plates or tubes for bubbles before pipetting.
• Check pipette tips for air gaps while pipetting.
• Pipet reagents slowly and carefully to transfer entire volumes, to minimize bubbles, and ensure accurate and precise
delivery of liquids.
• To avoid creating bubbles in the chip inlets, pipet vertically and directly into the bottom of the inlet, as shown, and do
not go past the first stop on the pipette. If a bubble occurs, ensure that it floats to the top of the inlet.
Pipetting into bottom of inlet
• If necessary, remove medium-to-large bubbles from a chip inlet by popping them with a new pipette tip or by
removing the contents of the inlet by pipette and then carefully re- pipetting the contents into the inlet.
• Place the chip on a black surface to reduce glare and make it easier to see the liquid in each inlet when looking for
bubbles.
23
