Rig Rooms

General Procedure for Experiments

General Rule: Do not use any particular rig until the owner(s) have communicated (together) to give you permission and show you how to use it. 

Dissection Bench & Sink

Some general Etiquette:

• • If you are the last one to use the counter, be sure to clean and wipe down the counter and tools. 

  • Do not keep the saline bottles out of the fridge for longer than necessary. Please refill them when they are close to empty and wipe down the bottles when they look dirty. 

  • Wipe up any saline you spill - salt builds up quickly! (on the counter and in the fridge) 

  • When leaving preps in the fridge, label them with your name and date. Do not leave partially dissected preps in the fridge for >1 day. 

  • Please also replace empty paper towel, glove, or kimwipe boxes; refill transfer pipets; replace old sandpaper, etc. 

**SUPER IMPORTANT** After the dissection, clean off the counter with Mr. Clean multipurpose cleaner, then warm tap water, and finally ethanol (wiping it down with paper towels in between steps). This prevents the accumulation of (hard to remove) organic material on the counter. 

• Everyone who uses the dissection bench and sink is responsible for cleaning up after themselves. To clean the bench please follow the SOP (standard operating procedure) below. Don't skip steps! Each step is important to remove different layers of stuff from the lab bench.

Dissection Bench/Sink Cleaning SOP:

• • Apply the multipurpose cleaner, scrub with a sponge, & wipe down.

  • Apply deionized/warm water liberally and wipe down.

  • Apply Ethanol (EtOH) and wipe down.

**To ensure the bench and sink stay clean there is a Bench Monitor. The responsibilities of the Bench Monitor are listed below, and there is also a sign above the dissection bench.**

Bench Monitor Duties:

• • Ensure that the dissection bench & sink is being cleaned daily by those doing dissections.

  • If not make sure to let people know & remind them to clean the bench/sink.

  • Make sure NO crab parts are going down/in the sink.

  • Wipe down the bench thoroughly once a week. See SOP below.

  • Change absorbent pads (under dissection dishes and under dissection tools) once a week.

Air Table Maintenance

All of the air tables are hooked up to airlines in the walls. In the event that the airline isn't working, we have a few nitrogen tanks that can replace it. If the gas tank for an air table needs replacing, go to this link for instructions on the safe handling and installation of new gas tanks: Regulator Use Procedures for Non-Hazardous Gases

Axoclamp Amplifiers

If you encounter problems with your amplifier, please follow this link to troubleshoot Axoclamp Amplifiers: http://www.axon.com/pages/mdc_kb_article.cfm?ArticleID=147.

Axoclamp 900A manual here

PClamp and Axoclamp software

• • Download pClamp 11 here

  • Download pClamp 10 here

  • pClamp software manual here

*Note that you will need a license plugged into the computer to run the software

• Download current version of Axoclamp here