Techne TC-3000X - Manual (Page 24)

TUBES OR REACTION VESSELS
Bibby Scientific Ltd does not recommend any specific tube or reaction vessel other than those described
in this manual. We recommend using reaction volumes between 20 and 200µl. The tubes must withstand
a pressure of 1 atmosphere at 100°C. Any vessel must be able to withstand the temperatures you are
using without any danger of them deforming to the point where they fracture.
To test your tubes, put 25µl of water into each of 5 tubes and subject them to a typical thermal cycling
protocol. At the end of the program, measure the volume remaining using a micropipette. A loss of more
than 1 or 2µl indicates a vapour leak.
The amount of volume loss you observe and the change in reactant concentrations you can tolerate
determine the minimum volume that can be used. Typical volume losses of 1µl in 30 cycles allow the use
of samples of 20µl or less.
During the final cool-down, a ring of condensation may form above the liquid level but below the top of
the sample block. This is normal and does not effect the reaction.
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