Hi, recently I was sonicating 1 wt% chitosan solution and that I did for 5 min upto that time everything was OK. However, as I went next time to sonicate the same suspension I found that fuse of that instrument has blown up. I am just curious if my polymer solution caused any problem. Should we not probe sonicate the polymer solutions?
I see no relation between your solution and the instrument failure. machines misbehavior have so many reasons, but very likely your solution has nothing to do with it.
I agree with Amin that the viscosity probably has nothing to do with it. It sounds like something may be overheating, especially if you can sonicate OK for 5 minutes before blowing a fuse. Make sure you are not exceeding the output setting for your particular probe, that your solution is being cooled, and that you are cycling your sonicator cycle, rather than constantly sonicating. That is, sonicate in pulses so that the sonicator is on for part of the time and off for part of the time. Most sonicators have a pulse duration setting, and a 50% on/50% off cycle is typical. I will attach a paper showing that sonication can be carried out on polysaccharides even for very long periods.
Dear Prof. Cote,
Thank you so much for this detailed and clear answer. Yes the process was done in maintained conditions to avoid overheating that is in pulse on and off mode. Now I have no doubt that some other issue has caused instrument failure.
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