Perform a Diluted Bleach Tip Wash
This procedure describes a tip wash using a 1:10 bleach dilution on the IAPS with ILASS. If the instrument tips came in contact with DNA, perform the bleach wash at the end of the day.
The bleach wash makes sure that the fixed pipetting tips are properly cleaned and decontaminated of residual DNA. The wash also makes sure that the tips are ready for use with the best possible pipetting conditions while also avoiding contaminating carryover. Failure to perform a bleach wash routinely can contribute to inaccurate results.
Tecan tips are sensitive to bleach. Perform the bleach wash only as directed and never run it more than one time per day to avoid degradation of the tip coating.
You can perform a wash at any time. Unlike the system flush, ILASS does not enforce the bleach wash. Perform an ILASS bleach wash as follows.
| 1. | Make sure that the system liquid carboy contains enough system liquid for the upcoming runs and that the liquid waste container is empty. |
| 2. | Launch and sign into the ILASS application using the appropriate user name and password. |
| 3. | From the ILASS software home page, select Infinium Maintenance Procedures. |
| 4. | Open the instrument front safety door and add 5 ml 1:10 bleach solution (1 part bleach, 9 parts water, containing 0.5–1% sodium hypochlorite final) to a 40 ml quarter reservoir and place it in a reservoir frame. |
| 5. | Place the reservoir frame on flat plate nest Carrier 7 (Grid 8), Site 1 (at the back of carrier with the reservoir on the left-most side of the frame). |
Make sure that the reservoir frame is placed correctly. For guidance on the correct placement of the reservoir frame, refer to the worktable diagram in the ILASS user interface.
| 6. | Close the front safety door. |
| 7. | Navigate to Bleach Wash and select Start. |
| 8. | Follow the prompts to execute the run. |
If the system flush is overdue (more than two hours after the last flush), the system performs a system flush before performing the bleach wash. During the bleach wash, each tip aspirates 450 µl bleach solution into the tips and system tubing. After a two minute incubation, the instrument discards the bleach and flushes the tips with system liquid to remove any remaining bleach.
| 9. | Open the front safety door and discard the bleach wash. |
| 10. | Rinse, dry, and store the labware. |
