Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes provide an advanced hardware solution for sealing, storage and shipping liquid samples in 96-well and 384-well microplates. Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes accommodate one 96-well or 384-well microplate. An anodized aluminum base, composite lid, sealing gasket and six thumb screws provide an air tight seal, allowing the transportation of liquid samples in non-pressurized cargo compartments. Arrayit shipping cassettes are ideal for liquid DNA and protein microarray samples that require shipping by express mail and for prolonged storage requiring an air-tight seal, 1 shipping cassette per order.
Microarray Tools - Microplate Shipping Cassettes for Storage and Shipping of Aqueous 96-Well and 384-Well Microplate Samples for Research, Life Sciences and Microarray Testing Applications
Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes provide an advanced hardware solution for the sealing, storage and shipping of liquid samples in 96-well and 384-well microplates. Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes accommodate one 96-well or 384-well microplate. An anodized aluminum base, composite lid, sealing gasket and six thumb screws provide an air tight seal, allowing the transportation of liquid samples in non-pressurized cargo compartments. Arrayit shipping cassettes are ideal for liquid DNA and protein samples that require shipping by express mail and for prolonged liquid specimen storage that benefits from an air-tight seal.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Quality Control
- Product Description
- Short Protocol
- Complete Protocol
- Recommended Equipment and Reagents
- Technical Support
- Scientific Publications
- Ordering Information
- Warranty
Introduction
Congratulations on taking a big step towards improving the affordability, quality and speed of your genomic, proteomic, biomedical, pharmaceutical and agricultural research. This handbook contains all the information required to take full advantage of Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes.
Quality Control
Arrayit takes every measure to assure the quality of our microarray products. The finest manufacturing procedures were used to produce this device. Rigorous quality control monitoring guarantees that each device conforms to the highest industry standards.
Product Description
The growth of the microarray industry including ex situ microarray manufacturing has driven the need for Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes (Cat. MPSC), which enhance the storage and shipping of liquid microarray samples contained in 96-well and 384-well microplates. Arrayit shipping cassettes expedite high-throughput transportation of aqueous samples for custom DNA, protein, extract and whole cell microarray printing. Plate wells should be sealed with adhesive foil seals (Cat. MPAFS) and then transferred to shipping cassettes for shipping. Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassettes provide users with the highest quality, most advanced shipping and storage technology available. Users will appreciate the following features:
- Each cassette has a capacity for one standard 96-well or 384-well microplate
- Maintains constant atmospheric pressure when shipped in non-pressurized cargo areas
- Prevents changes in pressure and popping of adhesive seals
- Prevents loss of sample volume and cross-contamination
- Allows aqueous sample shipping including proteins, cells and other sensitive biomolecules
- Eliminates the need for sample freezing and dry ice
- Prevents evaporation of samples during storage at 4°C, -20°C and -80°C
- Useful for biochemical and chemical reactions requiring an air-tight seal
- Rugged aluminum construction
- Custom shipping cassettes available in stainless steel
- Rated at >1,000 shipping cycles
- Anodized surface treatment prevents oxidation and out-gassing
- Cleanroom compatible
- Lightproof top protects light-sensitive samples
- Can be used with wet or dry ice
- Airtight and water-proof under pressurized and non-pressurized conditions
- Affordable
- Fits all standard 96- and 384-well microplates
- Internal dimensions: 12.8 x 8.6 x 1.4 cm (5.0 x 3.4 x 0.55 in)
- External dimensions: 16.8 x 12.3 x 3.5 cm (6.6 x 4.8 x 1.4 in)
- Weight: 580 g (1.3 lbs)
Short Protocol
1. Transfer samples to 96-well or 384-well microplate.
2. Seal wells using adhesive foil seals.
3. Insert microplate into Shipping Cassette base.
4. Place the Shipping Cassette lid on top of the base.
5. Close the Shipping Cassette lid thoroughly.
6. Ship the sealed Shipping Cassette to its destination.
7. Unpack the Shipping Cassette.
8. Centrifuge samples before removing adhesive foil.
9. Print samples or use as needed.
Complete Protocol
1. Transfer samples to 96-well or 384-well microplate. Liquid transfer can be performed manually with pipettes or with automated liquid transfer robots. Sample volume nominally should not exceed 50% of the well volume.
2. Seal wells using adhesive foil seals. Remove the protective backing and allow the foil seal to outgas for at least 10 minutes to remove volatile vapors that can contaminate biological samples (24 hours is preferable). Out-gassing should be performed in a low dust environment such as a laminar hood or a microarray cleanroom. Failure to outgas foil seals may compromise your biological samples. Place the out-gassed foil seal on top of the microplate and press down firmly across the entire area of the microplate, making certain every well is sealed (Fig. 1). Pressing down firmly around the entire periphery to seal the microplate (Fig. 1). Samples sealed in this manner are safe against dehydration for >30 days at room temperature.
3. Insert microplate into Shipping Cassette base. The sealed microplate should be inserted gently into the anodized blue base of the Shipping Cassette and seated directly against the bottom of the base (Fig. 2).
4. Place the Shipping Cassette lid on top of the base. Make sure that the thumb screws in the lid align properly with the threaded holes in the base of the cassette.
5. Close the Shipping Cassette lid thoroughly. Turn each thumb screw 1/2 turn counterclockwise to make sure that the screws threads are aligned with the threads in the base. Turn each screw clockwise 1/2 turn, progressing around the cassette lid in a clockwise manner. Repeat clockwise half turns until all screws are hand tight. Each screw can be tightened another 1/2 turn using a screw driver for extra tightness. Do not overtighten the screws as this can strip the threads.
6. Ship the sealed Shipping Cassette to its destination. Use overnight shipping and a suitable carrier to ship the cassettes and specimens to Arrayit or another suitable destination for microarray printing.
7. Unpack the Shipping Cassette. Upon arrival, unpack the shipping cassette and place it lid upward on a laboratory bench. Use a cleanroom wipe or suitable lint-free laboratory cloth to remove any debris or condensation from the cassette. Turn each screw 1/2 turn counterclockise, proceeding in a clockwise manner around the lid of the cassette. Loosen each screw and remove the lid from the cassette base.
8. Centrifuge samples before removing adhesive foil. Centrifuge each microplate briefly before removing the adhesive foil seal. Arrayit Microplate Centrifuges (Cat. MPC110 and MPC220) work well for this application. Brief centrifugation ensures that the specimens are seated at the well bottoms prior to removing the adhesive foils seals.
9. Print samples or use as needed. Load the microplates on a suitable microarray printer such as an Arrayit SpotBot or NanoPrint Microarray and print the samples into microarrays. Plates can be re-sealed at stored at 4°C, -20°C or -80°C for re-printing.
Figure 1. Microplate sealed with an adhesive foil seal. Shown is an MMP384 384-well microplate sealed with an Adhesive Foil Seal (Cat. MPAFS) firmly sealing every well on the plate.
Figure 2. Sealed microplate inserted into Shipping Cassette base. Shown is a 384-well microplate with an Adhesive Foil Seal being inserted carefully into the anodized base of the Shipping Cassette.
4. Place the Shipping Cassette lid on top of the base. Place the black opaque lid on top of the blue base containing the sealed microplate, making certain to align the two red arrows on the top left side of the lid and base. If the arrows are not aligned, the lid cannot be sealed (please do not attempt this!). Make certain the six threaded screws are aligned with the threaded holes in the base of the Cassette.
5. Seal the Shipping Cassette lid thoroughly. Tighten all 6 screws by hand, moving around the Cassette in a clockwise manner (Fig. 3). Tighten all 6 screws again by hand, moving clockwise. Once all 6 screws are hand tight, tighten each by an additional 1/4 turn with a Phillip’s head screwdriver (Fig. 4). Screws should be tight but not over-tight. Tightening the screws excessively with a large screwdriver can damage the Shipping Cassette permanently. Please do not do this!
Figure 3. Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassette screws allow tightening screws by hand. Tighten all 6 screws by hand as shown.
Figure 4. Arrayit Microplate Shipping Cassette screws allow tightening with a Phillip’s head screw driver. Tighten all 6 screws 1/4 turn with a screw driver. Do not over tighten as this can strip the threads in the lid and base.
6. Ship the sealed Shipping Cassette to its destination. Place the Shipping Cassettes inside a sturdy box with packing materials such as bubbles or peanuts to minimize agitation. Ice packs can also be used to keep the samples cool during transit. Federal Express and other airline-based carriers work extremely well for transport.
7. Unpack the Shipping Cassette. Upon arrival, unpack the box containing the Shipping Cassette and discard the packing materials. Transport the Shipping Cassette into the laboratory. For cleanroom use, de-contaminate the exterior the Shipping Cassette with 100% ethanol and pure, forced air prior to moving the Shipping Cassette into the cleanroom.
8. Centrifuge samples before removing adhesive foil. Loosen the 6 screws by turning them counterclockwise by hand or with a screwdriver. Make certain all 6 screws are loosened fully before trying to remove the lid. Once the lid has been removed, remove the microplate containing the foil seal, and centrifuge the samples for 5 min at 500 x g to propel the samples into the bottom of the microplate wells. To avoid sample loss and contamination, do not remove the foil seal without centrifugation.
9. Print samples or use as needed. Microplates containing samples can be placed on the platen of a microarray robot or loaded into automation “hotels” for high-throughput microarray manufacture.
Recommended Equipment and Reagents
NanoPrint™ 2 Microarrayers
SpotBot® 4 Personal Microarrayers
Arrayit InnoScan 710 Laser Scanners
Arrayit SpotLight™ 2 Microarray Scanners
Colorimetric Scanners
Hybridization Cassettes
High-Speed Centrifuges
Multi-Well Hybridization Cassettes
Microarray Slides
Wash Buffers A-C and 1-3