Multichannel Systems MEA Manual - Manual (Page 43)

MEA Manual
43
5.5 Cleaning of used MEAs
5.5.1 General Recommendations for Cleaning MEAs
The cleaning procedure depends on the kind of coating and on the kind of biological preparation. In the
following, a few general considerations are listed.
 If you have recorded from an acute slice without coating, you can simply rinse the MEA with distilled water
and the MEA should be fine.
 If necessary, the MEA can then be cleaned with any cleaning agent, for example, a standard dish-washing
detergent. When cleaning coated MEAs, parts of the coating may go off. You have to recoat a MEA when
the coating is not sufficient anymore, that is, when you observe problems with cell attachment or
recording.
 If more severe methods are needed, the MEA can also be cleaned in an ultrasonic bath for a short moment.
But this method is a bit dangerous, because there are ultrasonic baths that are too strong and will destroy
the MEA. The behavior should be tested with an older MEA first. Generally is using an ultrasonic bath not
recommended.
 EcoMEAs are easier to clean, because the golden electrodes are not so easily damaged.
5.5.2 Cleaning of pMEAs
Perforated MEAs have a robust ceramic or glass carrier, but the electrodes are embedded in polyimide foil.
Therefore, they are heat stable to 50 °C only and cannot be autoclaved.
Please do not use ultrasonic bath for pMEAs!
 Rinse with distilled water first, then apply 1% Terg-A-Zyme solution (Sigma) for several hours. Rinse the
pMEA again with distilled water and dry them directly before use. Sterilization via rinsing with 70 %
ethanol is possible. Do not immerse the pMEA into the alcohol for a longer time otherwise the ring may
probably get off!
5.5.3 Cleaning of EcoMEAs
The gold electrodes of EcoMEAs are very robust and are the only MEA electrodes that will endure more
severe cleaning methods. You can check the need for cleaning under a stereo microscope: The electrodes
should be shiny and look golden. If they are gray, or if they show a film, you should clean them.
 Carefully clean the electrodes with a swab and distilled water under microscopic control.
5.5.4 Cleaning of EcoFlexMEAs
EcoFlexMEAs made of polyimide (Kapton) have a temperature range from 0 – 125 °C. They can be sterilized
by autoclavation.
 If necessary, carefully clean the electrodes with a swab and distilled water under microscopic control.