How can I prevent contamination?
• Stick to a three room strategy: Laboratory 1: nucleic acid isolation
Laboratory 2: PCR setup
Laboratory 3: PCR instrumentation/PCR run
-> if three rooms are not available, please perform nucleic acid extraction in
a facility spatially separated to the PCR laboratory
• Use pipette tips with aerosol barriers only.
• Store positive controls separately from negative controls.
• Always pipette positive after the unknown samples.
• After each pipetting of an unknown sample seal the reaction tube/capillary.
• Do not reuse capillaries, tubes, filter tips etc.
• Use different sets of pipettes for aliquotting artus® kit components and handling controls.
• In case of capillary breakage or when tubes unseal, clean the work area, including the thermocycler, with sufficient amounts of a DNA-decontaminating agent (hypochlorite or e.g. DNA-Zap by Ambion) or UV light.