FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Shipping, Orders, and Customer Support
Products are shipped FedEx Priority Overnight. Temperature-sensitive products are shipped in specialized insulated packaging, and all items are shipped overnight Monday through Thursday.
With full customer information and a completed application received, accounts are created and able to order within 24 hours from the time of receipt.
We do have set prices for our products. Contact your Technical Sales Representative to discuss your application needs and pricing.
Yes, please contact your Technical Sales Representative, or call us at +1 (888) 560-2073.
IMCSzyme
No. IMCSzyme is a purified beta-glucuronidase product with no esterase activity. Other natural products as crude extracts will typically have esterase, which can cleave the acetyl group from 6-MAM and convert it to morphine. The presence of esterase can be tested with an esterase-sensitive substrate, like Calcein-AM, as shown in our publication in Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
Hydrolysis of glucuronidated benzodiazepines is one of the easier classes of substrates for glucuronidases. IMCSzyme® has been reported by Morris et al. to achieve near complete hydrolysis of glucuronidated benzodiazepines in 5 minutes at room temperature.
While urine samples routinely have a pH range from 4 to 9, we recommend customers use the included hydrolysis buffer. A buffer is used to adjust the sample pH into the recommended range. For IMCSzyme®, use RHB to adjust the pH to 7 to 8. For IMCSzyme® RT, the RT Buffer (RTB) will adjust the pH to 5.5 to 6.5.
Yes, incubating in a water bath or a heating block will benefit from a lower temperature due to differences in heat transfer efficiencies.
For IMCSzyme®:
- When using a water bath or heating block, incubate at 45 °C for 30 minutes.
- When using a convection oven, heat transfer is slower, hence setting the temperature from 55 to 60 °C and incubate for 30 minutes.
IMCSzyme® RT does not require heating and is able to effectively hydrolyze samples at room temperature. Heating of IMCSzyme® RT does not increase hydrolysis efficiency.
We do not recommend diluting the enzyme and incubating longer. At a lower enzyme concentration, the stability of the enzyme in the reaction will become more of a factor. Urine samples are known to contain inhibitors that can inactivate the efficiency of any enzyme over time. If the enzyme concentration is too low, there is a strong likelihood that the reaction would not go to completion during the longer incubation, as the enzyme would be inactivated before the time expires. This could result in a false negative result. At the suggested enzyme concentration and shorter incubation time, the enzyme can withstand a hostile sample long enough to complete hydrolysis.
IMCStips
IMCStips® contain loosely packed resin inside pipette tips retained by two porous filters. The concept is very close to batch extraction or dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE), except the process is executed by pipetting action. Porous filters are made of standard UHDPE (ultrahigh density polyethylene), which are used in many of the aerosol filters to prevent contaminants into the pipettes. Pipettes are sourced from the original manufacturers specified for the automated liquid handlers. No chemical adhesives are used to manufacture the product, reducing concerns for leaching of chemicals.
The IMCStips can be applied across many different automation platforms, including automated liquid handlers (ALH) from Hamilton, Integra, Dynamic Devices, and Tecan. Currently, many of our developed workflows have been designed using ALH devices from Hamilton Robotics, however, IMCStip workflows can be applied across many different ALH devices.
We provide templated programs to work on specific automation platforms. Short training session, method installations and minor program adjustments will be provided by our Applications Team. Extensive modifications or customized workflows are possible at the standard rates. Examples of workflows and templated programs are provided in some of our application notes. [Related Link - IMCStips Application Notes]
The types of resins used are categorized into four broad segments, affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and size exclusion. Many of our resins are supplied by respected and established resin manufacturers such as Cytiva, Purolite, POROS (Thermo Fisher), and Phenomenex. IMCS has other proprietary resins from other suppliers that have been customized to work for dispersive solid-phase extraction. If you have a customized resin that you would like to test using IMCStips, view our Custom Solutions page or contact us to get started.
Yes, we routinely evaluate new workflows and applications for our products. Please contact us about your particular workflow, and we will schedule a conference session with our technical team. See our Custom Solutions page for more information.
We offer the option to certify that the finished products are endotoxin-free as an add-on service. Currently, only endotoxin-free plasmid purification tips are labeled as such. Please contact us if you need your IMCStips certified endotoxin-free and we will walk you through this process.
The binding capacity of the resin within the tips in our standard catalog would be similar to what is specified by the resin manufacturers. It can be dependent on the characteristics of your protein. Check our product sheets and posters for details of internal testing by R&D.
No, IMCStips are not suitable for use with manual pipettes due to several reasons. Firstly, precise control of flow rates for both aspiration and dispensing is required. Additionally, it is not ergonomic as the pipette needs to be held steadily without any movement, and the purification process can take multiple mixing cycles lasting over 30 minutes. Our technical team can help set up a proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstration by having the sample evaluated at IMCS or on a demo instrument at the customer site.
This is not recommended, as specific aspiration and dispense steps are required. In some cases, firmware changes may be necessary to ensure optimal recoveries from IMCStips. That's why IMCS provides a free basic script for your instrument, as well as method development, troubleshooting services, installation, and testing support. After receiving the script from IMCS application scientists, end-users are allowed to make changes to include any customizations they desire.
Yes. Once we provide the script, the end user can modify it as needed. However, we strongly recommend that you work with our applications team on any major changes to the method to ensure optimal performance.
IMCS offers competitive pricing, with costs depending on factors such as tip type, resin type, and resin amount. For accurate pricing, please contact our technical sales team here.
Yes, certain IMCStips products can be reused with an appropriate CIP protocol, as the resin will maintain its regenerative properties in IMCStips. However, the end-user must develop appropriate SOPs to determine their effectiveness, as results may vary.
Yes, our technical team can review the resin specifications to determine if it is compatible with IMCStips. One important requirement is that the bead size must be over 50 μm. Contact our team here to learn more and get started.
Different ALH (Automated Liquid Handling) systems offer various tip sizes, and the maximum fill depends on the resin used. Here are some examples of the most commonly used tip sizes and their maximum resin fills:
1 mL - 100 µL
300 µL - 10 µL
5 mL - 250 µL
No, IMCStips only require the standard labware available on most ALHs.
IMCS will recommend buffers depending on the application but can work with you to optimize the method for your specific needs.
Yes, IMCS provides comprehensive user guidelines to help you navigate the method. Additionally, the script features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) designed for easy navigation, requiring minimal training.
