Some things can be reused while others can't. Here is a list of things that can be reused and an explanation for things that can't be reused.
Pipette Tips - These cannot be reused, unless you take the time to wash them which can take a lot of time and effort. The reason these can't be used is you could contaminate samples or reagents.
Reagent Reservoirs - These can and should be reused. As soon as you are done running the test just rinse them out with soapy water or diluted Clorox, then rinse well with distilled water. We recently found out Clorox will make TMB turn yellow instantly.
Vials - These can be reused as long as a sample or reagent wasn't in it. If you have some old vials that only had extraction buffer in them you can dump it out and put new extraction buffer in. Not advisable if a sample was in there as it could contaminate the new sample.
Test Wells - If the well gets wet from anything, they cannot be used. If the monoclonals that are attached to the well wall get wet, they end up capturing non-specific protein shapes and will not capture to anything else again.
Reagents - If you have extra reagents in the reservoir after you are done testing, you can put it back in the bottle as long as it is not contaminated. You cannot extract reagents from the wells and put them back in the bottles as it will be contaminated. Same goes with Extraction Buffer if it has had a sample in it for more than a few minutes.
Transfer Pipette - These will be used once the test is licensed and are for ProClin only, since they are only used for one reagent they can be reused as long as they are properly cleaned. Once you have completed making up extraction buffer, rinse the transfer pipette with warm water and then distilled water.
Maintaining clean equipment is essential in running proper tests. Take the time to properly clean your equipment to avoid any potential issues with running the test.
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