1. Fill the myograph chamber to the edge with an 8% acetic
acid solution and allow it to work for a few minutes to dissolve calcium
deposits and other salt build-up. Use a cotton swab to
mechanically clean all chamber surfaces.
2. Remove the acetic acid and wash the myograph chamber and
supports several times with double distilled water.
3. If any kind of hydrophobic reagents have been used which
might be difficult to remove using steps 1) and 2), then try incubating the
chamber and supports with 96% ethanol or a weak detergent solution (i.e. 0.1%
triton-100).
4. To remove more resistant or toxic chemicals, incubate the
myograph chamber and supports with 1M HCl for up to 1 hour.
* In exceptional cases, incubate the chamber and supports with no stronger than a 3M HNO3 solution for about 15 minutes.
5. Wash the myograph chamber and supports several times with
double distilled water.
6. If acids such as 1M HCl and 3M HNO3 are used to clean the
chambers, make sure ALL surfaces are thoroughly dried after copious washes with
double distilled water. Any residual acid will cause corrosion of the stainless
steel jaws and pins.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
• Be very careful using HCl or HNO3 because these acids may cause extreme damage to the stainless steel chambers and supports. Do not use bleach to clean the chambers. Repeated use of chlorinated solutions such as bleach and HCl will cause damage to the stainless steel parts of your myograph system. Avoid using them if at all possible.
• After cleaning, always check that the grease around the transducer pin is sufficient to keep the buffer and water from entering the transducer housing.
If red or brown discolorations appear on the chamber sides
or on the supports, the following cleaning procedure will work in most cases:
1. Incubate the myograph chamber and supports for 30 minutes with 2mM T-1210 Tetrakis- (2-pyridylmethyl)-ethylenediamine solution dissolved in double distilled water.
2. Use a cotton swab to mechanically clean all the
affected surfaces during the last 15 minutes of the incubation period.
3. Wash the myograph chamber and supports several times with
double distilled water.
4. Incubate the myograph chamber with 96% ethanol for 10
minutes while continuing the mechanical cleaning with a cotton swab.
5. Remove the ethanol solution and wash a few times with
double distilled water. Incubate the myograph chamber and supports with an 8%
acetic acid solution for 10 minutes and continue the mechanical cleaning with a cotton swab.
6. Wash the myograph chamber and supports several times
with double distilled water.
7. Dry the surfaces using absorbent paper (i.e. Kim-Wipes)
or cotton swab.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
In exceptional cases, the supports (jaws or pins) may need
to be removed from the myograph chamber and cleaned individually to assure
proper cleaning of all support surfaces. Never soak the supports in anything
stronger than 8% acetic acid for extended periods of time (i.e. Several hours
or overnight)!
As of July 14 2017, ADInstruments no longer sells or supports any DMT products (unless previously purchased under tender contract). Instead, please contact DMT direct.
