Techne TC-4000 - Manual (Page 24)

TUBES OR REACTION VESSELS
Techne 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.
SWITCHING ON
22
When you switch on the unit a screen similar
to the one shown here will appear briefly. This
indicates the software version and block type
installed in the unit.
When the initial screen has disappeared the
screen shown here will automatically appear.
There are three options:
1. 'Programs' for creating and running
programs;
2. 'Information' for obtaining information
about the unit e.g. serial number;
3. 'Configuration' for setting up program
defaults and settings.
Each of these is explained in detail in the
following sections.
TC-4000
Version xx.xx
Block 96x0.2ml
Programs [0]
Information
Configuration
[ , to select ]
60x0.5ml
384
Flat