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Appendix B
SurPASS Adjustable Gap Cell: Standard Operating Procedures
Night-before Preparation
1. Cut membrane coupons (~1”x0.5”) and soak in DDI water overnight.
2. Prepare 1 mM KCl solution:
• Pipet 10 mL 0.1 M KCl solution into 1000 mL volumetric flask.
• Fill to mark with DDI water.
• Vacuum filter KCl solution:
o Rinse Whatman funnel with DI water.
o Position a 1 µm, 47mm membrane and assemble unit.
o Rinse membrane by filtering 50-100mL DDI water; discard.
o Filter KCl solution.
o Clean up: rinse used glassware 3x with DI water and place on drying rack.
Adjustable Gap Cell Assembly
1. Adhere double-sided tape to blue sample holder. Press out bubbles.
2. Peel backing off tape and adhere backing of membrane to tape.
• Pull overhanging edges firmly with tweezers; press with Parafilm if needed.
3. Trim membrane to exact size of sample holder.
• Exercise extreme caution to not damage the sample holder with scissors.
4. Insert sample holders into AGC.
5. Adjust gap so both sides appear equal – a very thin slit of light should be visible
from each side.
6. Allow knurled nuts to freely spin onto sample holder stems until they stop at the
AGC. Place holders and fold down arms to secure.
7. Tighten knob on top of AGC until finger tight.
8. Double check gap on both sides to ensure gaps are equal.
ñ If gaps are not equal, disassemble to step 5 and readjust before proceeding.
9. Insert the leads into the perfusion holes.
10. Adjust the AGC holder to align with the grooves in the leads. Press down gently.
Adjust if needed.
11. Attach the AGC and tighten the leads with the knob on the holder until the clutch
engages.
Instrument Startup
1. Start up VisioLab for SurPASS.
2. Turn instrument on.
3. Fill 600 mL Schott beaker with 500 mL 1 mM KCl. Add stir bar.
4. Open Pre-Measurement window and run Fill cycle for 100 s.
5. Run Rinse cycle to determine gap height:
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