Top Questions Everyone Wants to Know about Presston™ 100 Positive Pressure Manifold

1. What is the Presston™ 100 Positive Pressure Manifold? What types of sample preparation products are compatible?

– A positive pressure manifold uses a gas source to apply pressure from above to push liquids through sample preparation sorbents. This ultimately results in a more controlled flow and a constant pressure for all tubes/wells, as compared to a vacuum manifold. There are several advantages when using Presston. This positive pressure manifold allows for more consistency when processing samples, especially viscous samples, and has a sensitive pressure knob with a pressure gauge built in that allows the user to change the pressure in small increments when necessary. Presston has four different base options available for purchase: 96-well plates, 1 mL tubes, 3 mL tubes, and 6 mL tubes. All four formats can be purchased as adapter kits to add to a base kit. For example, if you purchase Presston for processing 96-well plates, add a 3 mL adapter kit and you’ll be able to conveniently convert between the two formats. The 96-well plate processes 96 samples, the 1 mL and 3 mL racks has space for 24 samples each, and the 6 mL racks has space to process 15 samples.

2. How does the pressure and system work?

– Presston does not require a power source, but a gas source is necessary. The gas source is connected by a tubing in the back of Presston without requiring any tools. Check out the video below for a more detailed explanation.

3. How do I set up Presston?

– In the box there will be an accessories kit containing 1/4 in. (OD) gas tubing (8 ft.) and a locator plate. There will also be the Presston base( see picture above) 1 replacement gasket and 1 replacement O-ring that fit on the bottom and back of the manifold respectively.

4. What Phenomenex products are compatible with Presston?

a. Impact™ Protein Precipitation Plates (96-well plate)
b. β-Gone™ β-Glucuronidase Removal Products (96-well plate and 1 mL tubes)
c. Phree™ Phospholipid Removal Solutions (96-well plate and 1 mL tubes)
d. Novum™ Simplified Liquid Extractions (96-well plate, 1 mL, 3 mL, and 6 mL tubes)
e. Strata® Silica-Based SPE and Strata-X Polymer-Based SPE (96-well plate, 96-well microelution plate, 1 mL, 3 mL, and 6 mL tubes)

5. When using the 96-well kit, is it possible to only use a portion of the plate (e.g. 48 wells) rather than using all of the plate without affecting cleanup performance? Does this apply for the other tube adapter kits as well?

– One of the most convenient features of using a positive pressure, as opposed to a vacuum manifold, is that what is occurring in one well, does not affect the pressure of other wells. The air gets pushed from above and regardless of what is happening to the rest of the plate or tubes, the same pressure of air will get pushed through the wells and help to create a uniform flow. Simply put, yes you can process a partial plate or only a few tubes without negatively affecting the pressure applied.

6. Is “dry-down” possible using nitrogen gas as the gas supply?

– It could be used for that but the temperature would not be controlled, just the pressure of the gas.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming video series, Sample Prep Confessions. It will include a video of a short guide on how to operate Presstion 100 Postive Pressure Manifold basically straight out of the box!