Reused Electroporation Cuvettes?

[Dick Vogt]

gchacko at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (George W Chacko) writes:


>We have a BTX electroporator and I wondert if anyone has tried
>re-using the cuvettes for it? I'd be most grateful to hear of your
>experiences. 

They blow up.  This is very exciting.  Kind of ruins your experiment.

Actually, this is true, but also, I have reused cuvettes.  As soon as you 
finish using them, wash them thoroughly with clean water, and let them 
try.  Probably best not to use ethanol on them.  They really do expload 
(actually, just arc an a rather noisy way and pop the cap off; this is so 
startling that it is very difficult for me to electroporate now without 
covering my ears and closing my eyes, but I've always been leary of 
blowing up baloons.)  A good reason not to reuse cuvettes is that you 
will contaminate your next transfection with plasmid from your previous 
transfection; at low level but it will likely be there.
-- 
Richard Vogt (Internet: vogt at biol.scarolina.edu) (803) 777-8998
Department of Biology, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208