ABOUT ARENA:
As WMicrotracker ARENA is based on micro-pathways of lights, there are some cautions to be kept in mind to avoid interference from ambient. Best way to discover ambient interference is to run a plate with dead-worms (you can kill worms using sodium azide). If high activity is detected using dead-worms, you need to identify the source of noise in order to isolate your equipment.
POTENTIAL SOURCE OF NOISE:
VIBRATIONS COMING FROM LAB BENCH:
Place the equipment in a stable lab bench, free of vibrations (no centrifugation, or other vibration sources at same bench )
VIBRATIONS COMING FROM INFRASTRUCTURE:
Be careful of infrastructure vibrations (some buildings are exposed to small infrastructure vibrations coming from traffic / subway and even small earthquakes). If you experience these kinds of issues, ARENA should be placed in a stable part of the building, and placed above styrofoam plaque and/or other anti vibrations polymers.
WATER DROP CONDENSATION ON LID:
For short-term measurements, the easiest solution is to check the plate under the scope before measurement and to remove the condensation using a soft paper. For long-term experiments, water could condensate on lids. This effect is possible to diminish by using parafilm around the lid and placing some small holes in this parafilm. Another possibility is to use a breathable tape for sealing the plate and making four small holes at well borders using a needle.
SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE:
Direct sunlight exposure could cause sensitivity changes to equipment and even temperature fluctuations please keep far from clear windows and sunlight exposure.
BUFFER CONTAMINATION or WITH PRECIPITATION
Another source of noise comes from buffers. Please check If the buffer you are using is free of contamination with rotifers and free of salt crystals,
UNDERESTIMATION OF WORM ACTIVITY BECAUSE ELECTROSTATIC
When using M9 buffer a potential problem could arise because electrostatic charge of some microplate brands (worms sticks at the bottom). Check under scope the health of your worms swimming in the microplate. You could add 0.5mg/ml BSA to your M9 buffer to avoid electrostatic problems if it appears.
LARVAE HATCHING ISSUES
If you are attempting to conduct long-term experiments using adult worms, be cautious about the effectiveness of your FuDR stock to prevent larvae hatching. Even when using the reported concentrations, some larvae could hatch and grow, causing your activity values to increase. Conduct a quick check of your plate under a dissecting scope every day to verify the health and homogeneity of your worm population.
BLUE LIGHT REFLECTANCE:
Some ARENA hardware possesses the capability of blue light stimulation. Although the ARENA is equipped with light filters, the blue lighting could cause some interference when a high-reflectance microplate is used. We recommend using blue light only for short-time stimulations and running the experiments with the blue light turned off.