Handling Cuvettes
Always handle cuvettes while wearing powder-free gloves. Fingerprints are the leading cause of cuvette malfunction and false readings. To avoid damaging the lower region of the cell where light enters, cuvettes should always be held by the top of the cell. This region is often between the bottom of the cuvette and 25mm.
Introduction and Removal of Cuvettes from Equipment
Prior to being introduced into a machine, a cuvette should be filled in accordance with laboratory protocol. This is done to prevent spills or contamination within the optical chamber. Believe us, you do not want to clean this chamber. This area is limited and may contain difficult-to-reach spots. Fill your cuvettes before inserting them into a machine to avoid unnecessary stress.
The placement and removal of cuvettes from spectrophotometers and fluorometers requires caution. When inserting the cuvette, ensure that the engraved letters of the cuvette are towards the light source of your machine by holding the cell at the top. The cuvettes should be placed into the cuvette holder by pushing them straight down.
Not recommended: twisting or forcing a cuvette into a cell holder. This could result in cracking or breaking, which could create a mess within the machine. Even if selling cuvettes is our business, we do not want you to break any.
When removing the cuvette from the holder, ensure that the cuvette is pulled straight up.
Cleaning and the Cuvette Washer
Our extraordinary glass cuvette washer is created in-house. Our Romanian glassblower with decades of experience hand-blows each of these cuvette washers.
Empty extra sample from cuvette.
Invert the cuvette and place it on the black spherical gasket with the water jet in the center.
Activating the suction pump will secure the cuvette to the cuvette washer.
Pour your preferred cleaning solution into the large clear cup (the one without the cuvette) and allow the cuvette washer to work its magic. After use, the cuvette can be dried on a cuvette rack.
Cleansing cuvettes with ultrasonic technology
Ultrasonic cleaners are exceptional in cleaning cuvettes. In fact, we use ultrasonic cleaners to clean plates and other cuvettes accessories during assembly. However, we do not encourage the use of these cleaning products. These sorts of cleansers can cause cuvettes to crack or fall apart due to their intense vibrations. Damaged cuvettes caused by ultrasonic cleaners are not covered by our warranty.
Any solvents used to clean cuvettes must be extremely pure. We suggest using pure water or solvents of spectrophotometric quality. These solvents must not include any suspended particles or lanolin or oils.
From experiment to experiment, cleaning solutions for cuvettes vary. The type of sample that was analyzed affects the cleaning solution. After use, we recommend rinsing the cuvette with diluted hydrochloric acid for routine maintenance. The cell(s) must be washed with distilled water following the application of hydrochloric acid.
For difficult-to-remove, adhesive samples, we propose soaking the cells in weak sulfuric acid. Our Cell Squeegee, which can be used to scrape the cell walls and remove residual filth and stains, is a useful item for eliminating lingering grime and stains.
Storing Cuvettes
We strongly advise retaining any unused cells in their respective cases. This helps to keep the cells clean and out of harm’s way, such as if a lab student were to accidently knock one into the floor. We adore it when students do this, but lab management frown upon it.
Before inserting cells inside their protective housing, they should be totally dry.
