Eliminating air bubbles in CEQ/GeXP gel cartridges

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Answer

This protocol was developed after certain types of large bubbles occurred in the p/n 608010 and 391438 gel cartridges. We have tested this protocol at our facilities and seemed to solve issues with gel. This protocol has satisfied some problems with signal dropouts due to bubbles but should be fully discussed with SCIEX tech support.

Note:This protocol may also be used with Allegra and TJ series tabletop centrifuges with the equivalent RCF is 378 to 475 x g (since the initial protocol used a rotor capable of spinning 1L bottles and this rotor is the JLA8.1000 or JLA9.1000) sing 50mL conical tube adaptors with carriers.

Centrifuge used was a J series (J6 and above) from Beckman Coulter but you can use any equivalent one that holds 1 liter bottles. 

1. Centrifuge the cartridges with the black cap up (piston down) at 1300-1400 rpm at 4C for 30 minutes
2. Inspect cartridges again for bubbles
3. Push piston down to expel any air at the tips with a piston of another syringe (preferably the proper one for the part number with 608010 being a 10mL syringe and the 391438 being a 20mL syringe)
4. Repeat until bubbles are completely removed.