Integra VIAFLO 96 - Leak Test

VIAFLO 96/384 – Operating instructions V11 Maintenance
48 INTEGRA Biosciences AG
6.3 Leak test
It is recommended to perform a leak test every 3 months or when errors occur.
Leak test may be done on half of the head at a time or column by column for a better view
of the liquid levels (load one GripTip column with reduced force as described under
operation of “4.2.2
Partial tip loading” on page 22).
1) Choose Pipet/Mix mode and enter the following settings: aspirate the full volume at
speed 6, mix cycles 6 at speed 6.
2) Fill a reservoir with distilled water (add some food coloring for better visibility).
3) Pre-wet the GripTips: Start the Pipet/Mix program by pressing the RUN key (17
). After
aspiration, press the PURGE button (16
) and confirm with RUN. This empties the tips.
Repeat 2 more times to a total of 3 pre-wet cycles.
4) Press RUN again to aspirate. Leave the tips immersed 2-3 mm in the liquid and
observe for 30 s the liquid levels in the tips. During this wait time the liquid levels must
not decrease.
5) Press RUN again to start the mix cycles.
a) Observe whether air bubbles are forming at the tip ends when dispensing.
b) Check whether the levels stay approximately the same across all channels.
c) At the end of a last dispense it is normal to have air bubbles because a blowout is
performed.
If in doubt about a particular channel, load a tip on this channel only and repeat the test.
Signs indicating a leak
1) Liquid level in one or more tips is decreasing while the tips are immersed in liquid
during the 30 s wait time.
2) During the mix cycle the top aspiration level in one or more tips is gradually
decreasing. This shows in uneven liquid levels across the tips after aspiration.
3) One or more tips show air bubbles at the tip end during the mix cycles.
N
OTE
A decreasing liquid level at aspiration could be an indication of a slow leak.
Performing a retest at 10 mixes may help identify a slow leak.
If a leaking channel is identified, change the red O-ring on that specific tip fitting (where
applicable, see 6.4.2) or contact your service technician.