Why do centrifuge tubes leak?

Most leaks are due to improper handling or sealing. Always refer to the Rotors and Tubes manuals before attempting to use the rotor.

 1.     OptiSeal™ : Make sure the neck area is dry and tubes are correctly filled.

 2.     Quick-Seal™ : Fill to the base of the neck leaving a small (approx. ¼" diameter) air bubble and seal with the proper Beckman Coulter heat sealer and seal former. For best results, follow the Quick-Seal™ user's booklet directions.

 3.     Open top tubes: Thinwall tubes must be capped and filled for use in fixed angled rotors (torque the cap to 120 inch-pounds). In swinging bucket rotors the fill level is 2 - 3mm from the top. Thickwall tubes (without caps) in fixed angled rotors need to be filled between half to three-quarters full. In swinging bucket rotors fill to within 2 - 3mm from top.

4.     Bottles: Always ensure all sealing surfaces and O-rings are dry. Wet O-rings can act as a pathway for fluids, causing a leak. Be sure all O-rings are present, in good condition, and are dry.

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What RPM can one use with a Beckman Coulter rotor to obtain the desired "g" force ?

The RPM/RCF information is included in each rotor operator's manual. You can also use the G-Calculations program found at this Beckman Coulter website link to obtain this information. Also, many Beckman Coulter centrifuge models can be programmed using RCF ("g") or RPM so that this calculation is not necessary when using these models.

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What is the minimum/maximum fill volume for my tubes?

Fixed angle rotors: all open-top, thinwall tubes, requiring multi-piece metallic caps, are to be filled as far as possible and sealed. For thickwall tubes and bottle assemblies, the minimum fill volume is half of its maximum fill volume.

Swinging bucket rotors: all thinwall tubes should be filled to 2 - 3mm from the top. 

All OptiSeal TM and Quick-Seal TM tubes are to be filled per instructions in the Rotors and Tubes manuals (LR-IM-, TLR-IM-, and JR-IM-). 

It will be important to note that there are exceptions to these guidelines. More detailed information and fill volumes for each tube and bottle type used in a given rotor is found in each rotor operator's manual and in the Beckman Coulter Rotors and Tubes manuals , which are available from Beckman Coulter.

website: www.serviceai.us ; email: support@serviceai.us

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