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>We have had our Vantage for about two years and have three 70um tip that I'm
>unable to get tight CV's and short stream break off points for sorting.
We have had some experience with this over the years, Davin. The ceramic
nozzles are pretty tough but they do accumulate hard deposits of minerals and
salts. I found that sonication in a detergent solution will usually fix
problems. For some time, we were removing the nozzle every night and storing it
in a detergent solution, sonicating before each morning's setup. This helped
keep them squeeky clean and gave good sorts and CVs. It may also be sufficient
to leave them on the instrument overnight if they are sucked dry and maybe even
flushed with water before shutdown.
Having said that, I have also experienced purchasing new nozzles from BD that
just did not work. I never had any problems returning them for replacement.
If you think the nozzles are pricy, just wait until you break a nozzle holder.
This is the problem with removing the nozzle frequently, if you break the
plastic tip of the nozzle holder you will be hurtin' for certain :-( .. It is
good to have an extra on hand, plus a good supply of the o-rings. The new
macro-sort heads have a metal tip holder, so this may not be an issue for you.
I don't know how the Vantage is set up when purchased without the macro-sort
option, but I know that on the FACStars the plastic nozzle holder will set you
back about a grand!
Cheers,
Gerald Spangrude, Ph.D.
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