When using 4-shank probes, or if you use dual probes (two probe cemented to each other front-to-front), shanks can become clumped together. This usually happens when there is some organic matter on the shanks.
Some things that can help are:
- leaving the shanks in a solution of 1% tergazyme (several hours or overnight should be enough), followed by rinsing the probes in dH20.
- alternating between IPA (removing the probe slowly) and dH20 baths.
- running a small drop of water (at the end of a pipette tip) across the length of the shanks to physically separate
the shanks (using surface tension) under a microscope. Make sure only the drop of water, not the pipette tip, touches the shanks.
You can also combine these different strategies.
As a last resort, you can attempt:
- to seperate the shanks manually using either:
- a sheet of parafilm,
- a thin needle,
- the hair from a small paintbrush,
- a glass pipette with a long flexible tip See this slack thread and the video below by Stefan Oline (@olinesn):
shankSeparation.mp4
- to sonicate the shanks (using a sonicator). this is not recommended by IMEC, as it can cause damage to the probe
Both of these are more likely to result in breakage.