Bioruptor (serious) decreasing efficiency overtime

[MGineste]

Dear mates,

I've been extensively using the Bioruptor for shearing chromatin for ChIP applications. I came to use different machines of different ages from different labs.

I noticed something really worrying for which I did not find any report yet : I have a very strong feeling that the Bioruptor machines endure a serious decrease of their efficiency overtime (and quite quickly, after 1 year of service), unfortunately leading to a very low reproducibility of the sonication.
A first machine from a nearby institute is ≈3-4 years old and is just not sonicating anything at all ; a second one from another institute is ≈1 year old and requires increased sonication cycles from one experiment to another to achieve a given sonication profile.

I also previously used "conventional" sonicators, which were also showing a decrease of their efficiency and thus required the probe to be regularly (= every 6 months) changed.

With the Bioruptor, there is - to my knowledge - just nothing to be changed. But the machine must somewhat wear-out from the ultrasound waves, as "conventional" sonicators do.

I really interested to know whether your experienced a similar observation with your own machines.

[GW_OK]

We had our covaris manifest something similar after ~2 years service. A quick chat with the company determined the transducer had burned out. A quick ship back to the company and a few grand and it was all fixed.

[mudshark]

We stopped using the Bioruptor(s) due to performance decreases and irreproducible sonication results and bought a Covaris.

[MGineste]

We stopped using the Bioruptor(s) due to performance decreases and irreproducible sonication results and bought a Covaris.

Thanks for your feedback.

It is comforting to know that I'm not the only experiencing such an issue. It is not to know that there is no other issue than switching to another machine...

We had our covaris manifest something similar after ~2 years service. A quick chat with the company determined the transducer had burned out. A quick ship back to the company and a few grand and it was all fixed.

Thanks for your feedback.

Something might also be done with the Bioruptor, even though in your case, it looks more like a technical failure rather than "natural" wear-out.

[protist]

MGineste, out of interest have you tried a performance test Biorupter. See http://www.unisonics.com.au/ultrason...mance-test.asp or seqAnswers thread (http://seqanswers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=798). We have had our Biorupter 5 years and have not experienced any significant issues with performance. I periodically run the foil test to check the health of the machine.

[dalib]

Dear MGineste,

the Bioruptor is a very robust and reliable instrument, but to ensure consistent performance it requires maintenance by Diagenode's engineers to ensure that the calibration of the instrument is still within the norm and to check the conditions of the different components (a check-up is recommended every two years, depending on usage).

If you contact us at [email protected], we will get in touch to investigate the problems with your Bioruptor.


Daniel
Diagenode

[MGineste]

Dear MGineste,

the Bioruptor is a very robust and reliable instrument, but to ensure consistent performance it requires maintenance by Diagenode's engineers to ensure that the calibration of the instrument is still within the norm and to check the conditions of the different components (a check-up is recommended every two years, depending on usage).

If you contact us at [email protected], we will get in touch to investigate the problems with your Bioruptor.


Daniel
Diagenode

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your feedback.

Before requiring maintenance from your engineers, I would like very much to know whether you could suggest to the community a diagnostic test of the Bioruptor machines, which would more quantitative than the foil test.

Your help on this point would be much appreciated.

[Veleno]

We had the same problem, shipped back for a full cycle of maintenance and it's like new; take care to empty the tank and dry it after each use or day if used a lot.

[dalib]

Dear MGineste,

we are currently validating biological test methods that our customers can use to verify the efficiency of their Bioruptor.

Like in Veleno’s case, our engineers would be able to diagnose and correct the cause of the reduced performance you have been experiencing.

Daniel

[lowerprimate]

We are having the same issues. We have a Bioruptor since ~18 months in the lab. It is not used that often. Performance is deteriorating badly costing us valuable time and money. Additional time is wasted by having to constantly re-test the settings. Diagnosing and repair costs are extremely high. Buyer beware!

[protist]

We have had our BioRupter for almost 5yrs and have had no issues with it. We are very careful to ensure that the unit is thoroughly cleaned and dried after each use and carry out regular tests with know quantities of DNA to check that fragmentation remains consistent.