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Graphite Mira Mist

Liability Note: The manufacturer assumes NO liability for damage however caused in the handling & usage of the nebulizers. Use at your own risk.



Caution

Do Not Handle unless you are sure that the nebulizer is dry, or washed with clean water. Acids, particularly HF, often look like water and will wet the end of the nebulizer during usage.

Warning

This device operates on compressed gases. Appropriate care must be taken. If in doubt about correct operating procedures, call an experienced operator or call Burgener Research at 905 823 3535.


Burgener Mira Mist Nebulizers require 45 - 55 psi to have a 1 liter per minute of Argon gas flow, so the operating pressures are in the range of 35 - 45 psi, depending on the torch optimum flow rate.

Mira Mist nebulizers will pulse if the pump can not deliver constant sample flow: Change your pump tubing often, or use a surgeless pump if possible.


IMPORTANT

1. Handling

The gas orifice is at the very tip of the nebulizer. It is made of Teflon® which is VERY SOFT. This tip is very easily damaged and should NEVER be touched with fingers, tissues, or anything else. If the tip is accidentally touched, and the nebulizer continues to operate, then it is still functional, and its use can be safely continued.

2. Tightening Gas and Capillary Fittings

The Graphite Mira Mist body has 10/32 threads for the gas and capillary fittings. The Mira Mist body is very soft and the threads easily stripped. Gently tighten until snug, do not force.

3. Dropping and Breakage

The Burgener Nebulizer body is 25% Graphite and 75% Teflon, the inner capillaries are 100% Teflon. Generally it will not break. If it is dropped such that the tip is deformed, then it will be irreparably damaged. If it continues to operate after being dropped, then it has not been affected, and its use can be safely continued.




Operating Instructions

This is a Drip Resistant design, intended to stop drops from forming on the tip and being re-introduced into the aerosol, which occurs in some chambers. In all other respects, it is the same as other Mira Mist Nebulizers.



1. Sample capillary tubing
The capillary tubing is attached with 10/32 UpChurch® chromatographic fittings. We suggest using our .043" OD X .017" ID Polyethylene Capillary tubing, but you may use any other tubing that fits an UpChurch 10/32 fitting. We recommend that you use a .017" ID or smaller ID capillary tube for the sample feed. This should catch any particles before they get into the nebulizer. It is much safer & easier to replace the capillary tubing than to clean the nebulizer.

2. The Gas Line
The gas line is attached with UpChurch(r) 10/32 chromatographic fittings. We suggest 2 mm OD X .039" ID Teflon tubing. This is flexible, non contaminating, and is rated for pressures much higher than the 50 psi required for the Mira Mist Nebulizer. A gas line filter is NOT included in the nebulizer. Any particles from the gas line will destroy the nebulizer. We have found this is one of the main causes of blockage of our nebulizers, so please ensure that the gas line to the nebulizer is clean of any particles.

3. Sample introduction / Maximizing Stability
The Mira Mist does not have any suction, so it requires a pump to supply the sample solution. The pump speed and the quality of the pump tubing have a large effect on the stability of the nebulizer. Try to select a pump tubing size that allows running the pump at a high speed. So for low sample flow, use orange green or orange blue pump tubing. Generally the pump tubing should be changed Every Day for maximum stability and lowest %RSD.

4. Washing Your Nebulizer
For the longest life and best performance, wash your nebulizer by simply running water as a sample for 10 minutes at the end of the day before shutting down the plasma. Any other form of washing is usually unnecessary. Please DO NOT wash your nebulizer in acid or solvents to 'prevent salt build up'. Teflon does not wet, so salts do not build up. However, the Micro3 is entirely Teflon, and has no filter to soak up your washing solutions, so it may be washed if you wish. If you do wash it, be sure that the wash solution is clean. Any particles in the wash solution will likely plug the gas lines or sample lines.

5. Unplugging the Sample Line
The Burgener Mira Mist uses our patented Enhanced Parallel Path design. This design allows the Mira Mist to have a sample path that is constant in size throughout its length, except at the beginning and ends, where the sample line INCREASES in size. With the Mira Mist's unique sample line design, and the Mira Mist's unique SOLID construction, it is possible to clean out particles with a cleaning wire. Caution: You MUST use a microscope or 10X magnifying glass to do this. The gas orifice is on the edge of the sample hole, and if you TOUCH the gas hole, you will destroy the nebulizer. To clean out a blockage, push a .010" OD wire from the front of the nebulizer until it sticks out the back of the nebulizer.

6. Nebulizer Pressure
The Burgener Mira Mist Nebulizer operating pressure is determined by the torch. Torches require 0.6 to 1 liter per minute. The pressure varies with each nebulizer, but the flow should be the almost the same for an individual torch. Each nebulizer should be tested by looking for the pressure which gives optimum precision. This will generally be found to be a narrow range. An initial pressure can generally be found by observing the central channel of the plasma while aspirating a solution of 1,000 ppm Y. Adjust the pressure until the red tongue is just level with the upper turn of the work coil. This is easy to observe with a relatively new torch, but, once the torch becomes discolored, it may be difficult to see this tongue. In this case, there is little alternative but to begin at 2/3 the pressure for 1 liter/min (listed on the label) and increase at 2 to 5 psi intervals until the best precision is found.

7. Nebulizer Orientation - Rotate to Optimize
Some nebulizers are sensitive to orientation. The gas flows from the nebulizer at a bit of an angle, and this effects the flows in chambers, especially cyclonic chambers. Be sure to check orientation once the apparently optimum nebulizer pressure has been found to determine which gives the better results. For the orientation check, rotate the nebulizer in 45 degree increments and check for a gain in precision. For most Mira Mist nebulizers, rotation only has a small effect.

Changing Capillary Tubing


How to change the capillary tubing:



The Burgener Mira Mist Nebulizer is designed to use standard chromatographic 10/32 fittings for the gas lines and for the capillary tubing fittings. This allows minimal dead space between the nebulizer and capillary tubing. It also allows the capillary tubing to be easily changed. Simply unscrew the old capillary tubing fitting from the back of the nebulizer. Remove the capillary tubing from the fitting. Place new capillary tubing into the fitting, so that the capillary tubing lines up with the end of the fitting. There should not be capillary tubing sticking out past the fitting. Then screw the fitting and tubing into the back of the nebulizer until finger tight. Test it for tightness by pumping water. If any leaks out during the test, you may need to tighten the fitting a bit more, or the capillary tubing is not squeezed enough by the fitting. If the capillary tubing needs more squeezing, then adjust it so that it extends out past the fitting a tiny bit and try again. The Fitting may require squeezing in a stronger material, such as the Peek fittings available from UpChurch.

To replace the capillary tubing into the UpChurch fitting, you may have to stretch the capillary tubing first: wrap some around your fingers or use two forceps and wrap it around the tip of the forceps and pull until the tubing is 3/4 to 1/2 the original OD. Then pull through the stretched part and continue pulling until some of the unstretched part extends past the tip of the fitting. Then cut off the excess at the tip of the fitting.
Teflon is a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont De Nemours Company and in all cases in this web page refers to PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene)