No specific method for clearing bubbles from the lines leading from
the polymer to the shringe pumps of a 3700 is given by Applied
Biosystems. However, I've discovered today, you can use part of a 3700
service tools module to do this. Just run the POP6toWater module. The
first several lines of commands do the trick. Polymer is drawn from the
polymer bottle into the shringes and ejected into the waste. After these
steps just suspend the module and re-load it, if there are still bubbles
in the lines or you saw bubbles in the polymer when it was in the
shringes. If so, just repeat these steps until the lines are clear.
Why did I need to clear the lines of bubbles? Well, I ran out of
polymer during a run. (First time I've done this in over 3600 runs, I
hasten to add.) Fortunately it was the last run of the batch and only a
few minor bubbles got past the shringes. I checked the cuvette using the
3700 service tools cuvette calibration module. Only a couple of minor
bubbles there. Still I was concerned. So I did a POP6toWater. I cleared
the bubbles in the lines leading to the shringes using the method I
describe in the 1st paragraph. Then I ran the full WaterToPOP6 module.
The cuvette then looked pretty bad--no Raman lines at all. However a
single BubbleRemove seemed to clear the cuvette completely of bubbles
and restore the Raman lines to normal.
Phillip SanMiguel
Purdue Genomics Core Facility
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