Dear ABRF'ers
The following observations about the quirks, caring and feeding of the ABI
3100 have been made, and passed on to me, by Michael Dupree here in the NCI.
I wonder if others have had similar finding.
____
In running the 3100 over the past few months we have noticed that the
following simple, regular additions to procedure are very helpful. The
beast seems a bit happier as a result.
1. The computer seems to perform better when the Oracle dB is relatively
low on data. We perform a "cache dump" about every 10 runs, or fewer. We
also regularly move the contents of the "Extracted Runs" folder into the
Recycle Bin. Our data and all backups are stored elsewhere.
2. The data collection software performs MUCH better when it is regularly
shut down and restarted prior to downloading your sample sheet and
performing a new run every other day or so. The computer itself is
rebooted every second or third working day or on Monday after the weekend
break.
3. In case anybody out there still doesn't know this, you really MUST
change the buffer every other day at the least! The 3100 is much more
sensitive to this than the 310.
4. If you are about to perform a run and need to put more polymer in the
reservoir syringe, it is good procedure to vacuate the in-use polymer into
the vial and allow it to remix with the cold polymer before filling the
chamber. We do this for both the reservoir and capillary fill syringes.
The data seems a little more consistent and should be especially noticeable
with sequencing runs.
Michael DuPree
NCI/ Lab of Biochemistry
Bldg 37 Room 4A13
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
(301) 496-1747
dupreem@pop.nci.nih.gov
____
Mark J. Miller, Ph.D.
Manager, DNA Sequencing MiniCore Facility
301-496-5688 x226
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