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- Posts: 11
- Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:15 pm
So I've been running some experiments for the past few weeks (info here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22454) and what we've ended up with is a bunch of silica saturated GC outputs. Rather frustrating. So our best guess is that there is material from the septum getting into the sample or onto the fibre/holder.
Currently my method is to add the bacteria onto agar in the vial, clamp the lid on, pierce the lid with an 18G canular and then insert the holder into the vial. Am I making some enormous rookie error? Are there specific vials/septums suitable for SPME? We're going to run a pilot study next week to determine the best way to collect so we don't get silica in the sample. So far we've got three methods - I'd be grateful to hear any other methods people have.
EDIT: Just for clarification: when I say septum, I mean the vial septum lid, rather than the septum in the GC!
Thanks
Lue