December 2007
Dear New User of Oryx,
Thank you for ordering Oryx, our automatic protein crystallization system.
Before we visit you to install the system, it would be helpful if you could
equip yourselves with the following items - part numbers and a list of suppliers
can be found at
http://www.douglas.co.uk/consumables.htm
PC with Windows XP with at least Pentium III or AMD XP, 512MB RAM, 1024 x 768
screen resolution, CD ROM drive and a serial port.
Notebook PCs often don't have serial ports or the required screen
resolution. Please take extra care of these issues when considering a
notebook.
Spare mains electricity socket
For Oryx4 and Oryx8: light Paraffin Liquid (around 1 liter)
Silicone fluid 200/1cs (around 1 liter)
In addition, the following would be useful:
Regular 96-well microtitre plates (around 300 microlitres per well)
such as polypropylene plates by Matrix (catalogue # 4919
www.matrixtechcorp.com ) or the
F8
strips by Nunc (F8 PolySorp, Part
Code:469078).
Protein load strips from
Abgene: "Strips of 8 Low Profile Tubes" catalogue # AB-0771
(Natural). We will supply 192 strips with the machine. Though these look like
ordinary PCR strips, they are a particularly low profile which allows the
Oryx to reach the bottom to load all protein provided.
Seed Bead Kit™ obtainable form
Hampton Research
CAT NO: HR2-320 to prepare seeding solutions.
A telephone near your bench. This is very useful since it allows us to
explain new software, to install new software, solve problems etc. on the
telephone. A cordless phone or a long extension would do!
2 meters of bench space!
Printer
Please prepare some proteins and screening solutions so that we can try
out the system during the installation. The ideal format for the screening
solutions is a deep-well plate (e.g. Abgene catalogue # AB-0932).
For Oryx8, please also prepare some proteins and buffers etc. for
optimization. Note that the protein, precipitants, buffers etc should be
as concentrated as possible. (If possible, the protein
concentration should be 3 times that used in vapor diffusion, and the
precipitants should be saturated.)
We look forward to installing your system.
Best regards,
Douglas Instruments
