Loading The Buckets - Beckman Coulter SX4400 Instructions For Use Manual

Loading the Buckets

For runs at other than room temperature, refrigerate or warm the rotor and precool the centrifuge
beforehand for faster equilibration.
WARNING
Handle body fluids with care because they can transmit disease. No known test
offers complete assurance that such fluids are free of micro-organisms. Some of
the most virulent—Hepatitis (B and C) viruses, HIV (I–V), atypical mycobacteria,
and certain systemic fungi—further emphasize the need for aerosol protection.
Handle other infectious samples according to good laboratory procedures and
methods to prevent spread of disease. Because spills may generate aerosols,
observe proper safety precautions for aerosol containment.
Do not run toxic, pathogenic, or other hazardous materials in this rotor without
taking all appropriate safety precautions. Biosafe containment should be used
when Risk Group II materials (as identified in the World Health Organization
Laboratory Biosafety Manual) are handled; materials of a higher group require
more than one level of protection.
Symmetrical and Balanced Loading
To ensure optimal performance and stability, the rotor must be loaded symmetrically. Two factors
affect symmetric loading:
1. The buckets or carriers must be loaded symmetrically with respect to their pivotal axes.
2. The rotor should be loaded symmetrically with respect to its center of rotation.
For best results, load opposing buckets or carriers with the same type of labware containing the
same amounts of fluid of equal density. Additionally, opposing buckets and their contents should
weigh approximately the same (within 10 grams).
It is not necessary to completely fill all tubes or positions in buckets; however, partially filled
buckets must be balanced with respect to the bucket pivotal axis. Each tube should be placed so that
its weight is balanced by a tube in a diametrically opposite position across the pivotal axis in the
same bucket. Opposing buckets should also be filled the same way.
Using Buckets
You can load buckets before or after they are installed on the rotor yoke. In either case, we
recommend filling the appropriate labware first and then loading the labware into the buckets to
avoid tripping the imbalance detector.
1
Load the filled containers into the buckets (see Tubes, page 5 for tube information).
NOTE
Tubes placed in opposing buckets must be filled to the same level with liquid of the same density.
Fewer than maximum number of tubes can be centrifuged in the multi-tube adapters if they are
arranged symmetrically in the buckets (see
B01198AB
SX4400 Swinging Bucket Rotor
Figure 3).
Preparation and Use
7