How to make nano-frit

http://www.abrf.org/index.cfm/list.msg/abrf/73705

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:08:48 -0400
From: "J. Will Thompson"
To: "'ABRF Discussion List'"
Subject: RE: nano column frits

Hi Chris and Brian,

I have also used this material with a slightly different approach to make high-quality nanocolumn frits. Our technique uses Kasil 2130 (also available free in 1 liter), formamide, and a glass wool fiber filter. Make a clean cut on the end of the capillary and place the fiber filter on a hard surface like a lab benchtop. Place 20uL of Kasil 2130 on the glass filter. Pipet 20ul of formamide directly on top of the Kasil. Using gloves so you can grip the capillary well, depress the end of the capillary into the glass filter and rotate back and forth between thumb and forefinger. Lift and depress in a different spot on the wetted filter; repeat 15-20 times. Each time the capillary will make a small "hole" in the filter and the result should be a 0.5 to 1 mm frit in the end of the capillary (no need to trim the end of the capillary afterwards). Heat at 100C for 30 min to cure. I have used this to frit capillaries from 30 um to 150 um in diameter.
One note, the Kasil/formamide mix cures very quickly so use one spot on a filter paper per capillary you wish to frit. Since you are only using 20ul at a time, the free sample should give you about 50,000 capillary frits.

Good luck!

Will

J. Will Thompson, Ph.D.
Proteomics Core Facility
B02 Levine Science Research Center
Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy
Duke University Medical Center
will.thompson@duke.edu