Bell:Cleaning the elutriation chamber

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Back to: JE-5.0 elutriation system


Step 1: Preparing and degassing the cleaning solution

  1. Dilute 20mL of Micro-90 Liquid laboratory cleaner (Internation Products Crop, into 1 L of tap water.
    • To prevent foaming, add the Micro-90 to the water (not the other way around). Gently mix.
    • Use tap water as deionized water diminishes the efficiency of cavitation
  2. Unplug the bath sonicator
  3. SLOWLY fill the tub of the bath sonicator to the operating level line. Filling the bath too fast will result in foaming.
  4. Re-plug the bath sonicator
  5. If the bath sonicator has a heater, turn the heater ON.
  6. Turn the timer to 5-10min and let the cleaner run to allow the solution to degass.

Step 2: Cleaning the elutriation chamber

  1. Unplug the bath sonicator
  2. Remove some the cleaning solution from the tub to give space of the elutriation chamber
  3. Place the elutriation chamber onto a tray fit to the bath sonicator. To prevent foaming and re-aeration of the liquid, SLOWLY put the tray into the sonication tub. Placing the chamber directly on the bottom of the bath sonicator can damage the transducers.
  4. The elutriation chamber should be placed into the apparatus so that the chamber internal surfaces and inlet tubes are completely covered by detergent. The chamber is on its side, inlet tube down.
  5. Make sure the cleaning solution fills the tub to the operating line.
  6. Turn the heater ON to speed up the cleaning process.
  7. Allow the cleaning process to proceed for 30-60minutes, depending on the amount and nature of the material to be removed from the chamber surfaces.

Step 3: Rinsing the chamber and the bath sonicator

  1. Unplug the Branson bath sonicator.
  2. Rinse the bath sonicator with clean water to remove traces of detergent
  3. Rinse the chamber and rinse it under rapidly flowing clean warm tap water to clear out residual detergent and debris. Direct the pressure into the lower chamber base so that water flushes outwards through the inlet tube.
  4. Rinse thoroughly in deionized water.
  5. Dry the chamber, either:
    1. By blowing laboratory air into the inlet tube and over the interior surfaces of the chamber. Make sure the laboratory air is clean and oil-free.
    2. Dry in ambient air in a clean, dust-free environment.
  6. If sterility is required, the chamber may be autoclaved, or flow-through sterilization may be performed when the chamber is reassembled onto the elutriation rotor.


  • Beckman JE5.0 Elutriation system manual,
  • Branson Model 1510 Ultrasonics cleaner manual,
  • Information on Micro-90 liquid laboratory cleaner from International Products Corp (the makers of Micro-90) at
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