To all Sorters, As a newcomer to sorting, I would appreciate any thoughts or comments on the need for inserting a static drain wire into non-conducting sort-collection tubes. There are references in the literature (see below*) that note the possibility of sorted droplets being repelled by static charge that can accumulate on non-conducting, plastic collection tubes. The suggestion made in these references is to insert a grounded drain wire into the collection tube to dissipate any charge. However, two experienced sorters who I have asked about this have not seen static accumulation to be a problem and do not use drain wires. The suggestions have also been made to use glass tubes (not always possible) or to coat non-conducting collection tubes with serum to achieve the same result. Thanks very much in advance for your input on this question. Larry Polsky Vaccinex, Inc. Rochester, NY *e.g., Shapiro, Practical Flow Cytometery, 2nd Ed, p. 108, and Dean, Cytometry 6:62-64 (1985)
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