SLS Blot Washer User manual
Operator’s Manual
For Automated Western Blot Processing
ii
Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
This document contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. All rights are
reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another
language without prior written consent of Stovall Life Science, Inc.
Stovall Life Science, Inc.
206-G South Westgate Drive • Greensboro, North Carolina USA
Phone: 800-852-0102
Fax: 336-852-3507
www.slscience.com
iii
Chapter 1: System Familiarization
and Assembly
Placement in the Laboratory ...................... 1
Electrical Considerations ........................... 1
Current Requirements ............................ 2
Fuse Replacement .................................. 2
Connecting Power ..................................... 3
System Overview ....................................... 3
Hardware Familiarization ....................... 3
Software Familiarization ......................... 5
Tube Routing ............................................. 6
Color Coding ......................................... 6
Connecting the Waste Removal System . . 8
Connecting the Wash System ................. 8
Inserting Tubing Into the Solenoid Valves. 9
Checking for Leaks ............................... 10
Using a Second Delivery Container ...... 10
Cleaning the Blot Washer After Use ......... 12
Cleaning Tubing and Containers ........... 12
Discarding Waste and Replacing Wash
Buffer ................................................... 13
Cleaning the Exterior Surface ............... 13
Chapter 2: Creating and Running
Programs
Keys You Should Be Familiar With ........... 15
Powering On the Blot Washer .................. 15
Selecting the Program Number to Edit
or Run ..................................................... 16
Editing a Program .................................... 16
Starting a Program ................................... 22
Pausing a Program ................................... 23
Stopping a Program ................................. 23
Using the Quad Harness .......................... 23
Scaling Up or Back .............................. 26
Default Program Descriptions .................. 26
Chapter 3: Calibration
Keys You Should Be Familiar With ........... 29
Checking System Pressure ....................... 30
Calibrating Dispense Volume ................... 30
Setting the Aspiration Vacuum Factor ....... 31
Chapter 4: Appendices
Accessory Part Numbers .......................... 33
Specifications .......................................... 33
Declaration of Conformity ....................... 35
Table of Contents
1
Chapter 1: System Familiarization
and Assembly
Placement in the Laboratory
Place the instrument away from sinks or other sources of water
that pose a shock hazard. Do not locate the Blot Washer where
the power cord will be walked on or exposed to water or chemical
spills.
Warning: Do not operate around flammable liquids or gases.
Electrical Considerations
For personal safety the Blot Washer must be properly grounded.
The power cords have a three-prong, grounded plug that mates
with a standard three-prong, grounded wall receptacle to minimize
the possibility of electric shock. The user should have the wall
receptacle and circuit checked by a qualified electrician to be
assured that the receptacle is properly grounded. Where a two-
prong receptacle is encountered, it is the responsibility of the user
to replace it with a properly grounded three-prong wall receptacle.
Warning: Do not under any circumstances, cut or remove the
third ground prong from the power cord. Do not use a two-prong
adapter plug.
2CHAPTER 1
System Familiarization and Assembly
Current Requirements
Current demand for the Blot Washer is modest, but it should be
added to other current demand on the circuit to make sure total
current demand does not exceed the rating of the fuse or circuit
breaker in use. Current demand for the various Blot Washer models
are listed below.
Caution: Be sure the line voltage is of the same value specified on
the nameplate located on the back panel.
Fuse Replacement
Warning: Before replacing a blown fuse, turn all switches to the
OFF position and unplug the instrument.
Figure 1 shows the location of the fuse in a small fuse drawer on
the back panel of the Blot Washer. A spare fuse is also located
in this drawer. Should the fuse blow, replace with a new fuse of
the same value. To remove a fuse, place the tip of a slot blade
screwdriver into the top of the fuse drawer and pry open.
Blot Washer Model Current Demand
115V < 0.5 Amps
230V < 0.25 Amps
Blot Washer Model Fuse Description
115V 5 mm x 20 mm, 500 mAmp
230V 5 mm x 20 mm, 250 mAmp
3
Power ON/OFF Switch
Fuse Drawer
Power Receptacle
Vacuum Inlet
Port
Blot Washer Back Panel
Connecting Power
Connect the power cord to the power receptacle on the Blot
Washer back panel and connect the power cord plug to a wall or
bench outlet.
System Overview
Hardware Familiarization
The Stovall Blot Washer is a straightforward liquid delivery and
aspiration instrument. An internal pump supplies positive pressure
for liquid delivery and house vacuum aspirates waste liquids from
blot containers. Air pressure from the internal pump is directed
through the blue pressure port located on the left side of the Blot
Washer (Figure 2). The vacuum inlet is located on the back panel
of the instrument (Figure 1) and the black vacuum outlet port is
beneath the blue air pressure port on the left side of the instrument
front panel.
Figure 1. Blot washer back panel showing location of the ON/OFF
power switch, power receptacle, fuse drawer, and vacuum port.
4
Vacuum Port
(black)
Pressure Port
(blue)
Aspiration
Valve Dispense
Valve #1 Dispense
Valve #2
Manual
Valve
Control
Buttons
Manifold
Green Indicator
Lights Signaling
Valve Open
Scroll keys to select
program functions
(edit programs,
calibration, etc.) LCD Display
Keys to increment/decrement
steps, dispense quantities, cyles,
timing, number of blots, etc.
Figure 2. Major components on the Blot Washer front panel.
CHAPTER 1
System Familiarization and Assembly
Software wash programs operate three solenoid valves to control
the flow of liquids. The normal condition of all valves is closed,
where by the flow of liquids is impeded by pinching the silicone
tubing closed. From left to right on the front panel (Figure 2) the
valves are:
• Aspiration Valve (larger) controls the aspiration of liquids to the
waste bottle.
• Dispense Valve #1 controls the delivery of wash buffer from the
large wash bottle.
• Dispense Valve #2 controls reagent delivery from the 140 ml
syringe or a second delivery reservoir.
5
During operation, the internal pump pressurizes the Wash Bottle
(Figure 3) through an air pressure line. When a new wash cycle
starts, Dispense Solenoid Valve #1 opens and the pressure in the
Wash Bottle dispenses wash buffer from the Wash Bottle to the blot
container.
The vacuum source is used to lower the air pressure in the
Waste Bottle. During a waste removal, the Aspiration Solenoid
Valve (Figure 2) opens and waste liquid is aspirated from the blot
container, and flows into the Waste Bottle.
When a wash program is configured, the user enters how many of
these dispense/aspiration cycles there are in a given wash step, how
much wash buffer is dispensed, and how long the liquid remains in
the blot container before aspiration.
Dispense Solenoid Valve #2 adds versatility by allowing a second
delivery container to be connected (Figure 5). Similar to the Wash
bottle, this second container is pressurized by the pump and liquid
is dispensed to the blot container when Dispense Solenoid Valve #2
is opened under program control. This second delivery container
can be used to dispense a second wash buffer or secondary
antibodies.
Each of the solenoid valves has a circular button above it. These
buttons manually open the solenoid valves and operate the valves
independently of programmed sequences. Manual control is most
commonly used when tubes are flushed during cleaning or during
calibration. When a solenoid valve is open, under program or
manual control, the indicator light above the manual control button
is illuminated.
Software Familiarization
Creating programs for a variety of wash sequences is described in
Chapter 2 and additional software functions for calibration are
discussed in Chapter 3. Before connecting tubing and filling
6CHAPTER 1
System Familiarization and Assembly
reservoir bottles, remove all port plugs, turn on the power switch,
and use the instructions in Chapters 2 and 3 to familiarize yourself
with the keypad and general software operation.
The most important keys to learn are the and keys for
navigation through menus and programs, and the or keys for
choosing options or changing numbers. The key is especially
important for navigation when editing programs. The other
three keys on the keypad are used to start, stop and pause wash
programs.
Tube Routing
The Blot Washer, reservoir bottles, and blot containers can be placed
in many different configurations depending on available lab space.
Lengths of supplied tubing are initially generous enough to accom-
modate different configurations. Once an optimal configuration has
been determined for your lab, you may want to shorten excessively
long tubes for a more organized, orderly appearance.
Figure 3 shows tubing connections for a standard configuration that
can be used to wash blots in one blot container. Tube routing is
shown for the wash bottle, waste bottle and vacuum source, Blot
Washer, and a single blot container connected to the Blot Washer
using the single dispensing harness.
Color Coding
Connectors on the wash bottle, waste bottle, and Blot Washer are all
color coded to facilitate making the correct connections.
Connecting each end of a tube to the same color connector will
lead to correct connections in most cases. The color codes have the
following meanings:
Black: vacuum source Orange: liquid waste
Blue: air pressure source Green: liquid dispensing
Table of contents
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