How Do I Work with SPRI beads?

When working with SPRI beads, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

In addition, make sure to pay attention to the following:

• Beads must be equilibrated to room temperature prior to use.

• Vortex beads well prior to each delivery.

• When adding beads to the sample, pipette up and down several times to ensure the sample and beads are well mixed, or vortex the sample and bead mix.

• For optimal results, working ethanol solution should be made fresh daily.

• Sample volume should be at least 50 µL to reduce variability.

• Sample should be suspended in molecular-grade water or standard buffers such as Tris or TE.

• A lower ratio of bead volume to sample volume retains longer fragments, and a higher ratio retains shorter fragments.

• When pipetting beads, aspirate slowly, ensuring there are no beads on the outside of the pipette tip.

• Ensure to remove all ethanol prior to elution. Residual ethanol can reduce the amount of recovered material.

• Do not over-dry the bead pellet. Excessive drying will reduce the final library yield. When you see cracks develop during drying, you may be over-drying the pellet.

For more information, see the G4 Best Practices and Quality Control Guide, reach out to your Field Application Scientist, or contact Customer Care.

October 2023