Best Practice Guide

April 14, 2022
Keywords or phrases:
system maintenance, reproducibility, desorb,
decontaminate

Best Practice Guide:
Octet SF3 System Maintenance®

Stuart Knowling Ph.D. Senior Scientist
Sartorius Corporation, 47661 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538 USA
Correspondence
Email: octet@sartorius.com

Introduction
High-quality surface plasmon resonance (SPR) data cannot be generated on a poorly maintained
system. In previous studies, it has been shown that ~50% of SPR systems could not be used togenerate high-quality data to analyze binding interactions because they were contaminated withsystem artifacts and subsequent noise.
A poorly maintained system will show systematic drift and therefore, it is important to perform
regular system maintenance.
Day to day usage of the Octet® SF3 can cause adsorption of material to the microfluidic tubing andpotential microbial growth within the system. A maintenance kit containing 0.5% (w/v) sodium
dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 50 mM glycine pH 9.5 and a designated maintenance sensor chip is available
from Sartorius (Part Number: 19-0137) and it is recommended to use this kit to ensure optimumperformance of the system. Performing the recommended weekly desorb and monthly desorb anddecontaminate will ensure that the Octet® SF3 system will continue to produce high-quality data.

Find out more: www.sartorius.com

Optimizing System Performancefor Everyday Use

DesorbPreventing potential issues with your system before they
develop into future problems is crucial to maximize runtime and longevity, maintain productivity and reduceoverall costs.

It is recommended to run the desorb maintenanceprogram at least once a week.

The Octet® SF3 has a simple minimum maintenanceschedule of a weekly desorb, which removes anyadsorbed proteins or other materials from the system
and a monthly desorb and decontaminate, which inaddition to removing adsorbed material also prevents
microbial growth in the system.
To help reduce potential salt build-up from physiologicalbuffers it is recommended that, when idle, the systemshould only be left to hibernate in deionized water. It is bestpractice to switch to the water line at the end of a method,
but where this is not possible, the Octet® SF3 system willautomatically enter hibernation mode after 72 hours andwill use the water line to hydrate the system. The waste
container can hold up to 2 liters of fluid but it is important tocheck regularly whether the waste container requires
emptying, and if required, emptying.

Prior to performing desorb, ensure that the maintenancechip is docked following the instructions located under:
Instrument setup: Replace Sensor Chip, and the rack andanalysis temperature is set to 25 ºC. This is due to theprecipitation of Desorb Solution 1 at temperatures below
20 ºC.
Note: Octet® SPR Vial, 2 mL (Part Number: 19-0140) is
required to perform the desorb maintenance program.
The desorb method is located under
Instrument Setup: Maintenance: Desorb
Place the required solutions in a mixed format sample rackas shown below:

Attention should be paid to the maintenance schedulereminder, which is located at the bottom of the Octet® SPR
Discovery software. The wrench symbol has the following
meanings:
SymbolMeaning
Maintenance is up to date
Maintenance is due soon
Maintenance is overdue

It is also recommended to perform at least one Preventative
Maintenance (PM) service per year and that the user
replaces the in-line buffer filters every 6 months to maintain
optimal performance (Part Number: 19-0109). Contact
Sartorius Technical Support (octetsupport@sartorius.com)
to inquire about PM service and service contracts.

2Item

Description

Position

Volume (mL)

Desorb 1

0.5% (w/v) sodium
dodecyl sulfate (SDS)

R1A1

1.8Desorb 2

50 mM glycine
pH 9.5

R1A2

1.8

Click ‘Start’ and walk away. After completing desorb, thesystem will automatically enter hibernate and the system isready for use. Total Run time for desorb is ~30 mins.

Desorb andDecontaminate
It is recommended to run the desorb and decontaminate
maintenance program at least once every 4 weeks andafter the use of 'sticky molecules' such as serum or somesmall molecules.
Prior to performing desorb and decontaminate, ensurethat the maintenance chip is docked following theinstructions located under: Instrument setup: Replace
Sensor Chip, and the rack and analysis temperature is set
to 25 ºC. This is due to the precipitation of Desorb
Solution 1 at temperatures below 20 ºC.
Note: Octet® SPR Vial, 2 mL (Part Number: 19-0140) isrequired to perform the desorb maintenance program.
Sodium hypochlorite and DMSO are required to besupplied by the user.
The desorb and decontaminate method is located under
Instrument Setup: Maintenance:
Desorb and Decontaminate
Just prior to use, prepare the following solutions:~0.8% sodium hypochlorite

50% DMSO

Item

Volume (mL)

Item

Volume (mL)

Sodium
Hypochlorite(10 - 15% activechlorine)

0.2>99% DMSO

1.5

Distilled and0.2 μm filtereddeionized water

2.8

Distilled and 0.2μm filtereddeionized water1.5

Place the required solutions in a mixed format sample rackas shown below:
Item

Description

Position

Volume (mL)

Desorb 1

0.5% (w/v) sodium
dodecyl sulfate (SDS)

R1A1

1.8Desorb 250 mM glycine pH 9.5

R1A2

1.8~0.8% sodium
hypochlorite

NA

R1A3

1.850% DMSO

NA

R1A4

1.8

Click ‘Start’ and walk away. The system is automaticallyprimed into the water line. After completing desorb anddecontaminate, the system will automatically enter
hibernate and the system is ready for use. Total Run time
for desorb and decontaminate is ~60 mins.

Shutdown
The system can remain idle (hibernating) in deionizedwater for up to two weeks and requires approximately 50
mL of deionized water per day. When hibernating,periodically check that the source bottle has plenty ofliquid as the system will continue to prime. If the downtime
is anticipated to exceed 2 weeks, it is recommended that
all three buffer lines are placed into deionized water.
Where system shutdown is required, follow the instructionsin the Octet® SPR Discovery software
Instrument Setup: Shutdown.

Notes
In addition to performing a weekly desorb it isrecommended that the pump cover is removed, and all
tubing is visually inspected for leaks and salt deposits. Anyleaks at the tubing and fittings should be cleaned withdeionized water.
IMPORTANT: In order to prevent potential poor sensor
chip docking and leakage, the plastic support of Octet®
Sensor Chips must be completely dry before docking. The
plastic support should be dried by using oil-freecompressed air or carefully blotting the surface of thesensor chip support.
3North America
Sartorius Corporation
565 Johnson Avenue
Bohemia, NY 11716
USAPhone +1 888 OCTET 75
or +1 650 322 1360
Email: orders.US07@sartorius.com

EuropeSartorius Lab Instruments GmbH & Co. KG
Otto-Brenner-Strasse 2037079 Goettingen
Germany
Phone +49 551 308 0
Email: euorders.UK03@sartorius.com

Asia Pacific
Sartorius Japan K.K.
4th Floor, Daiwa Shinagawa North Bldg.
1-8-11, Kita-Shinagawa 1-chome
Shinagawa-Ku
Tokyo 140-0001
Japan
Phone +81 3 6478 5202
Email: orders.US07@sartorius.com

Find out more: www.sartorius.com/octet-support

For questions, email: octet@sartorius.com

Specifications subject to change without notice. © 2022. All rights reserved. All names of Sartorius products are registered trademarks and the property of Sartorius AG and/or one of its affiliated companies.
Octet-SF3-System-Maintenance-Best-Practice-Guide-en-L-4072-RevA-2203-Sartorius Status: 03 | 2022

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