Re: FACScan FLx drift

Ray Hicks (rh208@cus.cam.ac.uk)
Tue, 3 Dec 1996 11:54:14 +0000 (GMT)

Not only is an overfilled sample tube a likely culprit, but leaving the
machine in standby mode with a tube attached when the machine is
pressurised can be pretty nasty. The sample becomes diluted by the
sheath, and if left long enough, it gets displaced into the air tubing.
This can be very bad for subsequent experiments if the displaced sample
contained PI or the like, since the air blows it into the next few
samples.

Ray

On Mon, 2 Dec 1996, Joseph Webster wrote:

>
> At 05:34 PM 28/11/96 +0000, Andy Riddell wrote:
> >Hi Eric,
> >I had a similar problem on my FACSCalibur to your FLx drift. It turned out
> >to be one of the hydrophobic air pressure filters behind the fluidics control
> >panel got wet and an 'air lock' of sorts formed. I just replaced the filter and
> >it worked fine. As to how the filter got wet, I haven't yet tracked down the
> >cause.
> >
>
> A possible cause is an overfilled sample tube!
> If a full tube is put on the sample uptake position, it is possible to
> force fluid up the air line, and the first barrier the fluid meets is
> that filter.
>
> Cheers, Joseph.
> Joseph Webster (O.I.C. Flow Cytometry)
> Centenary Institute of cancer Medicine & Cell Biology
> Locked Bag No.6, Newtown, NSW 2042, AUSTRALIA.
> Ph: 61-2-9565-6110 Fax: 61-2-9565-6101
>
>