Is it necessary to boil dialysis tubes in EDTA/sodium bicarbonate before using? or is it enough to boil it in distilled water? What is the recommended protocol for preparing dialysis tubing?
These are the instructions given by Sigma for preparing their dry cellulose acetate dialysis tubing.
"Removal of glycerol included as a humectant can be accomplished by washing the tubing in running water for 3–4 hours. The manufacturing process results in the presence of residual sulfate salts in the ppm range. Removal of the sulfate salts can be accomplished by treating the tubing with a 0.3% (w/v) solution of sodium sulfide at 80 °C for 1 minute. Wash with hot water (60 °C) for 2 minutes, followed by acidification with a 0.2% (v/v) solution of sulfuric acid, then rinse with hot water to remove the acid. This tubing will retain most proteins of molecular weight 12,000 or greater."
Spectrum recommends the following procedures:
"Preparation instructions will vary based on the membrane type as follows. Note that boiling membrane is not recommended as it can damage the membrane and alter the pore rating.
A) Biotech RC, CE, and PVDF membranes should be rinsed in DI water for 15 to 30 minutes to remove sodium azide preservative.
B) Spectra/Por® 7 Standard RC has been pretreated to remove the trace levels of heavy metals and sulfides and only requires a 15 to 30 minute soak in DI water to remove the sodium azide preservative.
C) Spectra/Por 1 through 6 Standard RC membranes may require some extra preparation. While rinsing Spectra/Por 1 through 6 in water is typically sufficient to remove glycerin or preservative, Spectrum offers two membrane pre-treatment solution kits for the removal of the trace levels of heavy metals and sulfides introduced during manufacturing. Heavy Metal Cleaning Solution and Sulfide Removal Solution Kits are recommended for ultra-sensitive dialysis applications like binding studies or when low level presence of these contaminants may interfere with downstream analysis of the dialysis sample."
The method of preparation of the tubing varies with the supplier and the type of tubing. Check with the supplier of your tubing. If your application is very sensitive to the presence of metal ions (e.g. DNA), treatment of the tubing with EDTA would be a good idea to bind up any contaminating metal ions. Additionally, the EDTA can be used as a preservative for storing the tubing.
The preparation of the dialysis tubing is highly dependent on the manufacturer. Following the manufacturer's instructions is key to obtaining maximum results with the product in any experimental procedure.
We use this protocol in our lab
A small piece (2-3 inches) of dialysis tubing (Sigma, D9277) was washed into running tap water for 1 hr to remove glycerin. Membrane was treated with 0.3% (w/v) sodium sulphide at 80˚C for 1 minute to remove Sulphur compounds. Membrane was washed with hot water followed by acidification with 0.2% (v/v) sulphuric acid. Membrane was rinsed again with hot water to remove acid contents.
In our unit, we only prime the dialysis tubings with normal saline. And use non-reuse dialyzers.
I rinsed my dialysis tubbing with saline buffer to. It is enough in my case.
@Ahmad Jawad Sabir, for sulphur removal, what kind sodium sulphide did you use? Does it work using sodium sulphide x-hydrate? Thanks
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