Home Made Gel Packs For Cantilever Storage; Suppliers Of Afm Accessories - JPK instruments nanowizard afm Handbook

when prepared fresh, but can be stored a few days in the desiccator in a dry
environment. Test the surface by imaging in air – roughness should be less than
1nm (or even lower, depending on the size of the molecules to be imaged). If the
surface is too rough, check that the APTES is clean and not old (water
contamination of the APTES stock from the air can cause aggregates to form),
check that the mica used to hold the APTES solution is clean (so there is no
contamination in the vapor), and finally try reducing the APTES amount or
incubating for only 1 - 1.5 hours.

9.3 Home made gel packs for cantilever storage

Cantilevers are delivered in plastic packages called "gel packs" of up to 50 pieces.
The chips are held on a soft and adhesive polymer layer. These gel packs can be
bought from cantilever manufacturers or can be home made for storing tips after
delivery.
®
Sylgard 184 Silicone Elastomer (Dow Corning) is often used as a pottant and
sealing for electronic parts but it can also serve for gel pack preparation. Together
with a catalyst it is delivered in aluminum containers of 1.1 kg or more.
Instructions for gel pack preparation:
1) The base and the catalyst have to be mixed in a precise 10 : 1 (w/w) ratio in
a glass beaker.
2) 60 g of the mixture is enough for at least 8 petri dishes (diameter 85 mm).
3) A small amount of the mixture is poured into a dish and evenly distributed
into a thin layer by tilting the dish.
4) Elastomer-coated dishes have to be left to polymerize for 24 hrs prior to
use. Alternatively, they can be cured at 60 °C for 3 hours.
9.4

Suppliers of AFM accessories

Cantilevers, calibration grids
JPK
http://www.jpk.com
Suppliers of AFM accessories (small parts)
TED PELLA Inc., USA
www.tedpella.com
Agar Scientific Ltd., England
www.agarscientific.com
PLANO W. Plannet GmbH Elektronenmikroskopie, Germany
JPK Instruments NanoWizard
®
Handbook Version 2.2a
Distributed in Germany by:
Sasco Semiconductor GmbH,
Dreieich,  06103-304552.
(Information kindly provided
by D.J. Müller's group at the
Biotechnology Center,
Technical University Dresden)
Cantilevers, calibration grids
Small parts for microscopy
Small parts for microscopy
Small parts, esp. for electron
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