Bell:Flow-through cleaning of the rotor

Back to: JE-5.0 elutriation system

Adapted from the

1. First make sure that:
   1. the system is completely filled with water with no air bubbles;
   2. the pump is turned off;
2. Spin the rotor to 2000rpm
3. Introduce into the system ONE of the following solutions: (a) 100ml of Hydrogen peroxide, 6% solution, or (b) 100ml of bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite)
   • Note: Bleach or peroxyde are better than ethanol for cleaning, as cleaning the chamber with ethanol may increase pellet formation at the distal end of the chamber (the manual doesn't explain why, though).
4. After the bleach solution has completely filled the chamber, I suggest you stop the pump and let the bleach in the system for ~30 minutes. This should give a more thorough cleaning.
5. Wash out the bleach and any remaining buffer with ~10L of distilled water (from the white tap).

Other notes:

• Beckman has tested these products (bleach and hydrogen peroxide) to make sure they don't damage the rotor (and I suppose the elutriation chambers), but they can't guarantee that this procedure is enough to guarantee sterility.

References

• JE-5.0 Elutriation System manual from Beckman-Coulter, 2004
• H.Blitblau, Bell Lab (MIT), 2005
• F. St-Pierre, Endy Lab (MIT), 2005