Mini-PROTEAN
®
II Cell Assembly Guide
Assembling the Glass Plate Sandwich
1.
Asse mble the gel sa ndwich on a clea n surfa ce. Lay the longer
rectangular glass plate down fir st. Place two s pace rs of e qual
thickness along the short edges of this plate. Next, place the shorter
glass plate on top of the spacers so that the bottom ends of the
spacers and glass plates are aligned. At this point, the spacers should
be sticking up above the longer glass plate approximately 5 mm.
2.
Loosen the four screws on the clamp assembly and stand it up so
that the screws are facing away from you. Firmly grasp the glass
plate sandwich and gently slide it into the clamp assembly with the
longer glass plate against the front face of the acrylic pressure plate.
Tighten the top screws of the clamp assembly.
3.
Place the clamp assembly into the alignment position on the casting
stand so that the clamp screws face toward the casting positions.
Loosen the top two screws to allow the plates and spacers to sit
flush against the base. Insert an alignment card between the glass
plates to keep the spacers in the proper upright position. Hold the
clamps at the base of the stand and re-tighten the top two clamp screws.
Note: Failure to use the alignment position to properly orient the glass
plates can result in casting leaks while pouring the gel, or buffer leaks
during the run.
4.
Remove the clamp assembly from the alignment position and tighten the
bottom two clamp screws. Check for proper alignment by inverting the
gel sandwich and looking at the surface of the two glass plates and
spacers. All three surfaces should be flush.
5.
Transfer the clamp assembly to one of the casting positions on the
casting stand. If two gels are to be cast, place the clamp assembly on the
side opposite the alignment slot to make aligning the next sandwich
easier. To attach the clamp assembly, butt the acrylic pressure plate
against the wall of the casting position at the bottom, so that the glass
plates rest on the rubber gasket.
6.
Snap the acrylic plate underneath the overhang of the casting position by
pushing with the white portions of the clamps. Do not push against the
glass plates or spacers, as this could break the plates. The gel
sandwiches are now ready for casting.
Bio-Rad Laboratories, 2000 Alfred Nobel Drive, Hercules, CA 94547
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