The operating specifications of the fully automatic Gram staining instrument cover three core steps: startup preparation, operation monitoring, and shutdown maintenance, as follows:
1、 Power on preparation
environment check
Ensure that the operating environment of the equipment meets the requirements: relative humidity of 20% -80%, temperature of 15-30 ℃, and power supply voltage of 100-240V (50/60Hz).
Check whether the waste liquid tank is too full and whether the clean water tank is filled with clean water to avoid equipment failure caused by abnormal liquid level.
Equipment self inspection and pipeline filling
Press the power button at the bottom left corner of the device's rear, and when the screen displays "press clean to reprogram", place the empty dye disc dial and click the "clean" button. The device will automatically inject reagents into the pipeline.
Check if there is any dye flowing out of the dye droplet nozzle. If not, refill it using the 【 Maintenance 】 - 【 Pipeline Filling 】 function.
Slide placement and parameter settings
Place the specimen slide into the slide holder, ensuring that the front of the specimen faces clockwise and the label faces outward, symmetrically placed. If there are less than 6 specimens, arrange them in ascending order according to their numbers.
Enter the number of dye sheets (2, 4, 6 sheets) through the numeric buttons. If there are more than 6 sheets, there is no need to enter them, and the device will automatically be considered fully loaded.
2、 Operation monitoring
Start the staining program
Click the "RUN" button, and the device will start running the dyeing program. During operation, progress can be monitored in real-time through the control panel.
Adding samples midway
If you need to add samples, click the "Pause" button. After the device prompts "Pause in progress...", open the hatch and place a new specimen. Close the hatch and click the "Continue" button. The device will automatically resume operation.
Key step control
Matchmaking time: Strictly control within 40-60 seconds. If it is too long, it will lead to false positives, while if it is too short, it will affect the staining effect.
Discoloration time: Ethanol decolorizes for 20-30 seconds, ensuring thorough decolorization of Gram negative bacteria and retention of purple color for positive bacteria.
Re staining time: Sand yellow re staining for 1 minute to make negative bacteria appear red.
3、 Shutdown and maintenance
Daily shutdown process
After staining, remove the slide holder for microscopic examination.
Click the "CLEAN" button to run the nozzle cleaning program, and the screen will display "presscleantarreprome" before shutting down.
Wipe the instrument drum dry with a cloth, place it back on the slide holder, and cover it with a lid.
Weekly and Monthly Maintenance
Weekly maintenance: Clean the chamber and lid, rinse the waste liquid pipe, empty the waste liquid tank, and conduct nozzle volume testing.
Monthly maintenance: Disassemble and clean all nozzles, perform B-line cleaning, and conduct nozzle volume testing.
Quality control management
Daily quality control: When changing the staining solution, observe the staining effect using quality control strains ATCC25922 (positive for Staphylococcus aureus) and ATCC29523 (negative for Escherichia coli).
Weekly quality control: Regularly stain with quality control strains to ensure accuracy of results.
4、 Emergency response
Insufficient dye prompt: When the screen displays a warning, replenish sufficient dye at the corresponding position.
Device malfunction: If the screen displays an error message and the "RUN" key cannot be pressed to start, turn off the device and wait for 10-20 seconds before restarting. If the problem is not resolved, contact the engineer to handle it.
Long term disuse: When not in use for a long time, turn off the power switch and unplug the power plug.