A: The operating temperature range for the FastPrep Instruments is from 2 – 48 °C so storing at 4 °C is not a problem. MP Bio has thoroughly tested using and storing a FastPrep in a cold room and have confirmed with other customers. However, it was built to be used at room temperature so there is a risk of condensed water negatively affecting the motor oil.

A: No. MP Bio has tested a variety of tubes that either did not fit the FastPrep Instrument or were damaged by the vigorous shaking necessary for grinding. The MP Biomedicals Lysing Matrix tubes will provide the best and most accurate results and are the best available for use. BioPulverizer tubes are the only recommended alternative to the FastDNA and FastRNA Tubes.

A: No. The FastPrep is not a centrifuge and you do not need to balance the tubes on adapters.

However, if you do not fill the tube holders completely, avoid having all your tubes in one location. Place your tubes evenly over all the holes in your adapter. To ensure better stability for the top parts of the adapters, it is important that the adapter rests on more than two points. We recommend using these with a minimum of 4 tubes. Use empty tubes if necessary.

A: Each instrument is equipped with two springs. We include spare springs to prevent delays that could be caused from a broken spring. We recommend that users change each spring approximately every two years, depending on the frequency and intensity of instrument use. The procedure for replacing a spring can be found in the user manual.

A: Each device is shipped with the ‘emergency stop’ engaged for safety purposes, and will not run until the emergency stop is disengaged. Disengage the ‘emergency stop’ by turning clockwise until it pops out.

A: To open the ‘Dome’, pull the 'Dome Release Cable' on back plate of the device to release the 'Dome Latch'.

A: The rpm value used by other bead beating systems refers to rotations per minute. However, FastPrep instruments do not use a rotating motion but rather a tridimensional motion (figure-8). The FastPrep’s m/s refers to the distance traveled by the sample or adapter bottom during one second. To convert from rpm to m/s, compare the number of turns carried out by the axis of the engine against the meter per second below.

• Motor speed at 4 m/s is equivalent to between 3400 to 4100 rpm.
• Motor speed at 6.5 m/s is equivalent to between 3700 to 4500 rpm.

Note that this conversion depends on the adapter used and the distance from tubes to the axis of the FastPrep.

A: If the FastPrep Instrument is run at speeds higher than recommended, it is possible that the heavy ceramic spheres and cylinders can either crack or weaken the tubes, especially the tube bottoms, so that they break when spun. If working with samples that are difficult to lyse, run the FastPrep Instrument at the highest recommended speed for 20-30 seconds, place the tubes in an ice bath to cool, then process the samples again in the FastPrep Instrument. This can be repeated until lysis is complete.

Tubes may also leak if there is less than a 0.5 mL empty space inside the tube. During mechanical lysis, the temperature inside the tube rises, increasing the pressure, which can lead to tube failure.

A: Yes, Lysing Matrix A tubes can induce the lysis of viruses together with the animal cells. When the garnet sand is removed and the homogenization process is performed with one ceramic bead, the animal cells are lysed but not the virus, keeping the protein capsid intact. To perform this, set the FastPrep Instrument at a speed of 6.5 m/s for 20 seconds. Reference: Klempa B. et al. (2005) J.Clin.Microbiol. Vol 43(6); 2756-2763.

A: Use Lysing Matrix A and do 4 runs of 20 seconds on the FastPrep Instrument at a speed of 6.0 m/s. Incubate samples on ice for 2 minutes between each run.