20.109(S13): TA notes for module 1

Coming soon!

General notes

See also GoogleDoc for aliquoting amounts.

Scheme:

Key preparation:

Day-by-day

Day 1

Materials required:

Day of Lab (R/F):

After Lab:

How it went: Pre-lab ran longer than it should have, leaving students with just over two hours to complete their designs -- not enough time for most.

Day 2

Materials required:

• Bird samples! At 100 μL each in a 2 mL tube
  • Use filter pipet tip to transfer and store at -80 °C -- consult Agi about which samples to prepare
• Aliquots of components from QiaAMP stool kit (see GoogleDoc)
  • Do NOT put out ethanol until after everyone is at the incubation step; we don't want them to accidentally add it too early
  • Some aliquots may be approximate (use your judgment). For example, it will be easier to pipet approximately 0.5 mL into each tube using a serological pipet than to pipet exactly 0.46 mL eight times per day, times several reagents!
  • ASL and AL must be aliquoted the day of lab (see below)
• InhibiTEX tablets should be singly available -- pre-cut around them; otherwise it is too easy to push out two instead of one

Day of Lab (R/F):

• Thaw that day's 100 μL samples in the fridge starting just before lecture. -Agi will do
• Place 4 ice buckets around the room (between pairs) for keeping samples chilled at first.
• Before lab, move samples to the ice bucket nearest the pair that will be using those particular samples (see table on Talk page, ready shortly).
• Check ASL and AL for precipitates; pre-heat at about 40-50 °C in the water bath at the TA bench
• Set up the heat block at the front bench. Fill tube slots with water and set at 70 °C
• Either set up second heat block at 56 °C or turn on the small oven (may be easiest). -Agi will do

After Lab:

• Store extraction samples at -20 °C until next time

How it went: