Information letter - GE Healthcare Life Sciences
Contents
1. for Multipurpose strategy If the flow rate is changed during execution of the instruction Superloop the time for filling or emptying Superloop is not adjusted to the new flow rate Action Do not change the flow rate when filling or emptying the Superloop Creating methods When creating new methods for BioPilot and FPLC systems you have to set Technique to Any to be able to select appropriate templates Action No action possible Changing column If you change column in a method made for a BioPilot or FPLC system there will not be a question about Column Value Update as with AKTAdesign systems Action No action possible 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 13 ActionlfPCFail setting The system setting called ActionIfPCFail defines the action to be taken in case of broken communication between PC and system Either the method is aborted or continues Action No action possible In case of broken communication between PC and system the system will freeze and continue to work with same flow etc until the communication is working again BioProcess Loop command The Loop command does not work on systems using the old UNICORN CU Control Board Action Upgrade the UNICORN CU EPROM to new version 1 14 Tuning In situations where more than one instrument has the possibility for feedback control in the Tune window a range problem may occur if the actual range is different between the two instrument loops Specifical2. recipe is selected manually before a method running in BufferPrep mode is started and when running a method which includes BufferPrep Action To remove the downloaded BufferPrep recipe from the Pump module execute any instruction e g a Flow instruction and then press the End button The dummy instruction must be executed for the End button to be enabled This action applies to all situations where you want to abort BufferPrep mode PumpWash If you press the Continue button during Pump Wash execution the Pump module may be set in End mode although the method continues to execute This affects the whole method execution and will most probably give incorrect results Action Never press Continue during Pump Wash execution Module calibrations Calibrations made directly on AKTAdesign system modules are logged only in the System Control logbook and not in the Calibration page of Documentation or in the Audit Trail This means that Calibration page and Audit Trail information might not be up to date Action Always calibrate AKTAdesign system modules by using UNICORN calibration functions in System Control Alarm during PumpWash or SystemWash execution If an ALARM event occurs during Pump Wash the system is Paused as intended but is Continued when PumpWash has ended The same applies to the System Wash instruction Normally the system will remain in Pause after an ALARM Action No action possible Adviser BufferPrep try
3. Information letter The information in this letter is valid for the following software versions and systems UNICORN version 3 00 UNICORN Analysis Module version 3 0 KTA design systems KTAexplorer 100 KTAexplorer 100Air KTAexplorer 10 KTAexplorer 10S KTAexplorer 10 XT AKTApurifier 10 AKTApurifier 10 XT AKTApurifier 100 AKTAFPLC KTAbasic 10 AKTAbasic 10 XT AKTAbasic 100 BioProcess BioPilot FPLC Introduction UNICORN 3 0 is designed specifically to work under Windows NT operating system Much of the programme has been rebuilt to improve efficiency and performance All functionality present in earlier UNICORN versions remain the same New features and improvements are listed in this information letter Installation UNICORN is supplied on CD ROM together with all KTA design system strategies BioProcess and customised system strategies are supplied separately according to user specification Before installing read the installation section in the User Manual New installation software allows an interrupt to be set during installation and default settings are no longer assumed Note The factory settings for the CU 900 Control Board is changed to IRQ 10 Address 100 Since the installation program suggests the old settings you have to enter the new values manually Amersham e Biosciences 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 New and changed functions General display and fu
4. arameter is incorrect Therefore we recommend you manually check all variables and scouting to ensure that all values are within the parameter limits before the method is used on the new system Note If you still cannot find the error remove all variables from the instructions and save the method All incorrect instructions will then be marked in red Template method file name conventions Template method file names on a local station may contain one or two dots i e met and met This will not affect the function of the templates UV curve names When using a variable wavelength detector Monitor UV 900 UV curves are automatically given names containing the UV wavelength Names are displayed together with the curve in the System Control curve window At the end of a run the curve name is changed back to its default name but the curve data from the run is still seen in the window and therefore the curve and curve name do not match Action No action required UV curves are always stored in the result file with the correct wavelength information in the curve name Printing chromatograms When several chromatograms have been imported into a single window the order in which they appear on a print out may not be as required e g a comparison of several different runs at different pH may not be displayed in a consecutive numerical order of pH values Action This is a function of Windows operating system The problem can be resolved by im
5. culated baseline or peak table is selected the peak information in the curve window is not updated Displayed peak labels and markers and the peak table will not correspond Action Always work with the latest calculated baseline and peak table Leaving UNICORN during evaluation The evaluation module of UNICORN will crash if the user tries to log out or Quit when an evaluation procedure is open Action Always close evaluation procedures including temporary chromatograms before quitting or logging out from UNICORN 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 9 Incorrect creation date for methods The Date of creation for method files that is shown on the Method Information page in Run Setup and in Documentation might show an incorrect time value If Windows NT is set up to automatically adjust the computer s clock when daylight saving time changes then the Date of creation is displayed incorrect 1 hour difference during the daylight saving period Unable to print to a HP DeskJet 890 printer If you are unable to print to a HP DeskJet 890 printer from within UNICORN but can use it from other Windows NT programs upgrade to latest printer driver available at http www deskjet support com dj890 Or you can try and disable the option of printer spooling To do this go to the Start menu of Windows NT and select Settings Printers Open the Properties page for the printer and on the tab called Scheduling select the option Print directly t
6. eme e Flow scheme can be set to unscaled mode to avoid distortion during screen manipulations Manual commands e Shortcuts for Run Pause Hold Continue available from the keyboard e Upto four parameters can be entered directly on screen 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 3 System settings e New display of information groups e Parameters are updated in the settings view as they are entered Removed feature e 4 button is replaced by use of the right hand mouse button Evaluation e New tool bar allows easier selection of functions e Zoom function can be reset to original or stepped back through a maximum of 10 zoom levels e Areas for curves and peak tables displayed on screen can be modified e Gridlines can be applied e Clicking on a curve legend changes the axis to the relevant scale e With the pointer positioned in the curve window the right mouse button will display curve properties e With the pointer positioned on an axis the right mouse button will display axis properties e Line thickness can be selected for printouts e Print preview follows Windows 95 Windows NT behaviour e Xand Y values of the marker are displayed when using Create curve Removed features e Open to compare no longer selects all curves as default when using the browse function Adviser e Adviser has been updated with information on new columns and media e New AKTAdesign systems are included e New annotation and cut paste
7. function allows copying of selected information 4 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Computer requirements Pentium 233 MHz or later minimum Pentium 90 MHz One system 64 Mb RAM minimum 32 Mb Two or more systems 92 Mb RAM minimum 64 Mb 1 Gb available hard disk NTFS file system Colour monitor 1024 x 768 minimum 800 x 600 with 64k colours 1 ISA slot connected system Mouse CD ROM drive 1 44 Mb 3 5 diskette drive option when industrially hardened screens are required Software requirements for UNICORN 3 0 Windows NT Workstation 4 0 Service Pack 3 or later Network requirements Supported network cards 3COM Etherlink III Compaq Netelligent 10 100 TX Embedded UTP Controller Compaq Integrated NetFlex 3 Controller AMD PCNET PCI Ethernet Adapter Integrated Novell NetWare version 4 02 or later or Windows NT Server 4 0 A valid network connection 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Important advice on operation Viewing long runs On long runs that exceed the x axis limits 21000 the curves window in System Control may show a false shortened x axis Action After completion of the run open the result in Evaluation to see the proper curve window Allocated memory To release allocated memory resources it is recommended to shut down the computer once a week Incorrect modified date at Print If you edit a previously saved method and then save it again the created date is equal to the modified date whe
8. ly a Setpoint out of range warning may occur if the lower range has been used before the higher range Action If more than one feedback control possibility exists choose the same parameter twice in the Feedback Control window Missing parameter names When you select an instruction in the instruction box of the System control module the names for the parameters may not be displayed immediately Action The missing names are displayed as soon as a parameter value is selected or the scroll bar is used Changing column If you choose a column for a method made for a BioProcess system there will not be a question about Column Value Update as with AKTAdesign systems Action No action possible Template Empty When the template Empty has been selected the unit for the column volume in the Base instruction in the text window is incorrectly shown as ml The real unit is litre Action Mark the Base instruction and click on Replace in the instruction dialogue box to change the unit to litre ActionlfPCFail setting The system setting called ActionIfPCFail defines the action to be taken in case of broken communication between PC and system Either the method is aborted or continues Action No action possible In case of broken communication between PC and system the system will freeze and continue to work with same flow etc until the communication is working again 14 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Important Inf
9. mmon scenario is that your normally network connected computer is physically disconnected from the network Then the next time the computer is switched on Windows NT searches for the non existent network for such a long time that UNICORN cannot find connected instruments Action Make sure that Windows NT boot up is not delayed In the scenario above the action would be to uninstall the NT network services Report simultaneously with running a method Sometimes UNICORN will lock up if you make a report simultaneously with running a method Action Do not make a report simultaneously with running a method 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 7 Peak Integration Peak area calculations are more precise when using Time base Using a method for another system In the Method Editor it is possible to save a method for a system other than the one for which it was originally created Certain checks are made on the method during this process e g instructions that cannot be used in the new system are marked as red and are not used However variables are not checked and there is a possibility that a variable value will be outside of the parameter limits As an example a method written for AKTAexplorer 100 may contain a variable Flow parameter set to 50 ml min If this method is used on AKTAexplorer 10 this flow will be too high Action A warning message is displayed if a faulty method is being started but the message does not tell you which variable p
10. n collector Action Insert a FractionationStop instruction or a FractionCollector instruction with FracSize 0 ml immediately before the FractionCollector instruction FracSize gt 0 ml Alternatively insert an OutletValve F2 instruction immediately this instruction 12 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 BioProcess BioPilot FPLC PAUSE as Watch action on systems using an AT card When a method contains a watch command with the action PAUSE the system will not go into a permanent state of pause but it will rather CONTINUE after approximately one minute This problem only affects systems using an AT card The problem exists in the EPROM v1 16 and earlier of the controller card Action Instead of placing the PAUSE as the action of the Watch command create a block which contains the PAUSE command and call this block BioPilot FPLC Loop command The Loop command does not work on systems using the old UNICORN CU Control Board Action Upgrade the UNICORN CU EPROM to new version 1 14 Fraction marks Some fraction marks are occasionally omitted when the fraction collector has been started with the instruction Frac Start Action For version 2 0 of a standard strategy use the instruction Collect instead Pressure limit When the pressure limit set in UNICORN is exceeded it may take about one second before a run is paused Action For a faster response to pressure changes set the pressure limit on the pumps also Superloop only
11. n you print the method Action No action possible Decimal separator Commas may not be used a separators for decimal values Action Use decimal points as separators Installation of new templates The 16 bit unpacking program used during installation of new templates cannot open folders with long names or names which contain symbols Action Change any folder names on drive c where necessary before beginning installation Saving a new method When saving a new method the screen shows x template as the default folder in which the method should be saved Action Continue save procedure i e add result name After the result name is added the name of the correct default home directory will appear Gradient window To display the correct gradient in the Gradient window when the x axis is expressed in volume the first Flow instruction must be placed before the Gradient instruction even if they are placed on the same breakpoint The x axis in time also requires the first Flow instruction to be placed before Gradient if a block base is in Volume or CV Note For the correct gradient display in the template methods delivered with the system the x axis should be expressed in time 6 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Trouble starting methods If you have a network installed UNICORN and your network is somehow unstable so that the network connection is often broken you might have problems starting methods Action Reinstall UNICORN as a l
12. nction properties access e To give more screen space for the operator modules Main Menu Method Editor System Control Evaluation are displayed minimised on the Windows NT tool bar e Right hand mouse button displays main functions properties following standard Windows 95 Windows NT behaviour Problem Reporting A new problem reporting functionality collects relevant information should a fault occur when running UNICORN A System Report can be sent directly to the local Amersham Biosciences office to enable faster analysis of the fault and a more accurate response A System Report includes the following an option for the user to input relevant information an explanation of the error computer information system information an installation check attachment of the logbook or result file in use when the fault occurred automatic compression of the report to minimise the size of file attachments Main Menu e An Instant Run icon in the main menu toolbar gives direct access to begin a routine separation This replaces the previous Easy Start function e View details include an optional sort function ascending descending order e Files may be viewed as icons small icons lists or details e Result files are automatically compressed when Copy to External is used external may be drive A or B e Result files are automatically unzipped from a zipped file on disk e Auto minimise functions follow standard Windows 95 Windows NT behavio
13. o the printer No default printer Depending on the installation of a network printer the error message No default printer is installed on this system Install a printer and start UNICORN again might appear when starting UNICORN even though a printer is installed The problem arises when a network printer is NOT locally installed on the workstation Action The error message can be ignored and it is still possible to use the printer as long as it is set up as the Windows NT default printer AKTAdesign systems Pressure values When pressure has been calibrated and the flow re started the pressure values on screen in System Control show zero pressure Action Press End Restart Flow Columns with 0 3 MPa pressure limit Columns with a 0 3 MPa pressure limit in their data file have a pressure limit of 0 5 MPa in the UNICORN column list to enable running them also in AKTA systems with high system pressure Action Change the pressure limit of the column to 0 3 MPa if your AKTA system has a low under 0 2 MPa system pressure 10 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 BufferPrep mode If a method compilation error appears when trying to run a BufferPrep mode method the method does not start but the BufferPrep recipe is still downloaded to the Pump instrument module An error will then occur as soon as another BufferPrep recipe is downloaded e g if you try to run a BufferPrep method again This error will also occur when a BufferPrep
14. ocal installation Note This is not a problem if you have a stable network Furthermore it is not a problem if the network connection is broken during a method run In this case and if the results were to be stored on a file server or another station UNICORN saves the result file in the FAILED folder on the local station Novell Netware problems The Method Editor may terminate if Novell Netware version 4 83 is used Action Install Service pack 1 for Novell Netware version 4 83 Long response time at method end Sometimes you may get extremely long response times at method end Action A 233 MHz computer with a minimum of 64 Mb ram memory is recommended Unless the computer is re booted once week an update to UNICORN 3 10 is recommended Restricting the use of the Continue function It is not possible to restrict the ability to use the CONTINUE function in the System Control module All users are able to use the CONTINUE function regardless of their access rights MethodQueue If you choose to start a MethodQueue at a certain time point Start at and the methods are to be run at different dates the methods to be run at the later date will not be run at all Action Run a MethodQueue during one day only No connection with instrument If the boot up process of Windows NT is somehow delayed and it takes a long time for NT to boot then it is possible that UNICORN cannot get contact with the instrument A co
15. ormation AKTA UNICORN FPLC BioPilot Bioprocess Superloop AKTAexplorer AKTApurifier AKTAFPLC AKTAbasic and Drop Design are trademarks of Amersham Biosciences Limited Amersham and Amersham Biosciences are trademarks of Amersham plc Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation Compaq is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell Inc Amersham Biosciences AB 2003 All rights reserved All goods and services are sold subject to the terms and conditions of sale of the company within the Amersham Biosciences group which supplies them A copy of these terms and conditions is available on request Amersham Biosciences AB Amersham Biosciences UK Limited Bj rkgatan 30 Amersham Place SE 751 84 Uppsala Little Chalfont Sweden Buckinghamshire England HP7 9NA Amersham Biosciences Europe GmbH Amersham Biosciences Corp Munzinger Strasse 9 800 Centennial Avenue D 79111 Freiburg P O Box 1327 Germany Piscataway NJ 08855 USA Amersham Biosciences China Limited Amersham Biosciences K K 13 F Tower I Sanken Building 3 25 1 Ever Gain Plaza Hyakunincho Shinjuku ku 88 Container Port Road Tokyo 169 0073 Kwai Chung New Territories Japan Hong Kong www amershambiosciences com 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 15 16 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08
16. porting the curves in the same order as is required for printing and highlighting the first curve in the series Reports with litre base If litre is used as the unit variables will be printed as ml in the variable list when reports are generated 8 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Evaluation procedure with print If you run an Evaluation procedure including printing a report the system communication may crash and the result file may be saved in some other directory than requested Action Do not use automatic evaluation procedures with print Print screen This function will not print the screen directly The screen can be saved to Clipboard and printed out from another suitable programme Viewing chromatograms A maximum of 10 chromatograms can be opened from a single result file A message then appears stating that no more files can be opened Action e Select File New to create a new result file e Start procedure editor with a new procedure File New Procedure e Create a procedure to read the missing chromatograms by using the OPEN__CHROM instruction e Run procedure e Missing files will now be available Peak labels If Horizontal text is de selected in Peak Label in the Chromatogram Layout box the text is not shown at all in File Report Preview Action No action possible Integration Peak labels and start end markers shown in the curve window are always calculated from the latest integration If an earlier cal
17. these conditions first Try these conditions first Gradient 0 100 elution buffer in 10 20 column volumes Start buffer A 20 mM Tris HCl pH 7 4 Elution buffer B 20 mM Tris HCl 1 M NaCl pH 7 4 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 AkKTAexplorer 10 and AKTApurifier 10 ActionlfPCFail setting The system setting called ActionIfPCFail defines the action to be taken in case of broken communication between PC and system Either the method is aborted or continues Action No action possible In case of broken communication between PC and system the system will freeze and continue to work with same flow etc until the communication is working again AKTApurifier 10XT Cleaning in place templates for gel filtration and affinity columns CIP templates for gel filtration or affinity columns do not appear on the template selection list Action Select ANY technique CIP template is available in the selection list for ANY technique AKTAexplorer systems SystemWash If a Gradient instruction is executed during System Wash execution the system is washed with the selected gradient composition AKTAexplorer 10 AKTApurifier 10 AKTApurifier 10 XT FractionCollector instruction When a previous FractionCollector command with FracSize gt 0 ml has been executed and the Outlet valve has then been switched manually the FractionCollector instruction will not always set the Outlet valve to position F2 to redirect the flow path to the fractio
18. ur Removed feature e User Menu seen in earlier UNICORN versions has been moved to Main Menu e Easy Start button has been removed Method Editor e A zoom function is available in the gradient window e Up to 99 runs can be pre programmed using the scouting function 2 56 3145 61 Edition AC 2003 08 Buffer Prep Improvements in accuracy of BufferPrep functionality have been made New pH limits have been set for several of the single component recipes Changes are as follows Buffer system original pH limits New pH limits Acetate 3 8 5 7 4 0 5 7 BisTris 5 8 7 7 6 0 7 7 Hepes 6 8 8 2 6 8 8 0 Phosphate 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 0 Phosphate 6 2 7 6 6 4 7 4 Piperazine 1 methyl 5 5 7 5 0 5 5 Piperazine 1 methyl 8 4 10 3 8 6 10 3 Piperazine 9 2 10 5 9 4 10 5 System Control e System Status is displayed on the status bar at the bottom right hand side of the screen Run data e Colours can be selected for the run data display Curves e A zoom function is available in the curve window e Zoom function can be reset to original or stepped back through a maximum of 10 zoom levels e Clicking on a curve legend changes the axis to the relevant scale e Colours and styles can be selected for every curve e A marker can be moved to any point in a curve to obtain the numerical value at that point e Hatch marks can be applied to curves by selection from the right hand mouse button menu Flow sch
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