RA-4300FG+ Flowcell Cleaning

RA-4300FG+ Flowcell Cleaning

Disconnect the Teflon joints of the AFS optical system, and loosen the four screws fixing the cell (in the red circles). 

 

Also loosen the three screws on the left side (in the blue circles).  Remove the plates.

Remove the Teflon connection on the left side and take out the cell. 

Take out the cell and gently and slowly wipe the inside and outside of the cell using a swab or Kimwipe soaked with water. 

 

Then, gently and slowly wipe the inside and outside of the cell using a dry Kimwipe. 

Please use extreme caution when wiping the flowcell with a cotton swab.  Static electricity will form inside the cell resulting in an unstable baseline and making it very difficult to achieve good blank numbers.  Extreme cases of this can be demonstrated by watching the baseline as you simply touch the outside of the optical black box with your finger.

 

After it is dry, attach the end caps to the right and left of the cell. 

It is important that there is no lint or other particles in the flowcell after it has dried.  It may be necessary to blow the flowcell out with compressed gas before reassembling.

 

Set the cell and Teflon pipes to the AFS optical system such that the front and top surfaces are black and the rear and bottom surfaces are transparent. 

 

Tighten the seven screws and reconnect the joints and tubing.