Next Advance BBY - Manual (Page 4)

Operator’s Manual for the Bullet Blender
®
EXAMPLE:
The figure above shows the Bullet
Blender set to run for 4 minutes at a
speed of 8, after running for 2 minutes.
To operate, press the “START” button.
After the first minute, the LED behind
the number 1 on the “minutes” dial will
light up. After the second minute, the
second LED behind the number 2 will
light up, and so on. At the settings
shown above, after 4 minutes, the
Bullet Blender will stop. In the Blue
and Storm modles, the words “Air
Cooling™” will light up in blue during
operation and for about one half minute
afterward as the fan continues to
operate.
Note that the Bullet Blender Storm
models have additional time settings for
15 and 30 second pulses. In addition,
the Bullet Blender Storm has an
additional, more powerful speed setting
of 12.
PROTOCOLS AND SAMPLE
SETTINGS
The following ratio should be used
as a guideline for determining the
amount of beads and buffer to use given
a certain sample size - 1 volume/mass
of tissue: 1 volume of beads: 2 volumes
of buffer. For more specific information
regarding the use of various beads as
well as specific protocol information,
please refer to our website
www.nextadvance.com .
As the tissue amount becomes
smaller, the above recommended ratio
may differ due to the limitations of
handling small volumes. With
microcentrifuge tubes, we recommend
using a minimum of 25 μL of buffer
regardless of your sample size. For the
5 mL tubes, we recommend a minimum
volume of 100 μL.
With microcentrifuge tubes, the
recommended maximum sample mass
is 300 mg of organ tissue or 300 μL of
plant tissue or pelleted cell culture per
tube in the Bullet Blender. The tube
should not be filled more than two-
thirds of the way after the addition of
all contents (sample, beads, and buffer).
This is because the mechanics of
homogenization require empty space in
the tube. For 5 mL tubes, the
recommended maximum sample mass
is 1 g of organ tissue or 1 mL of plant
tissue or pelleted cell culture per tube.
Do not operate with more than a total of
3 mL combined buffer, sample and
beads per tube.
Cutting the tissue into smaller
pieces will generally yield better
results. Tissue with a high aspect ratio
(long, thin strips) will homogenize
better than tissue that is round or cubic.
Do not operate the Bullet Blender
using the same tubes for longer than 15
minutes.
Protocols for many types of samples are
posted on our website:
http://protocols.nextadvance.com.
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