Harris e-Core™ Operation

The e-Core is a rotational tool. The motor is activated by depressing a trigger button causing the razor sharp cutting sleeve to rotate. Rotation stops immediately upon release of the button. The casing is ergonomically designed based on the successful joy-stick configuration. There is a convenient finger rest similar to that found on automated pipetters. The base of the hand rests on a safety flange, shielding the hand from the cutting area .

IMPORTANT: Do not depress plunger when coring.

DO NOT PLUG UNIT IN. Remove cover cap from tip. PLUG UNIT IN.
Grip unit in either hand with power cord under wrist and away from unit.
Place sample on cutting mat and hold in position with free hand.
Place cutting sleeve perpendicular to target area.
Depress activation button and lower sleeve until in contact with sample.
NOTE: As the cutting sleeve makes contact with the sample the speed of rotation may drop due to the load of cutting placed on the motor. With a new tip this will not be immediately apparent. However, with time the tip will begin to dull and you may find you are required to apply more downward pressure and activate rotation longer. This would be a good indication to replace the tip.
Depending on the sample you may need to test the cutting resistance, length of coring time and depth
of cut until the tip makes contact with the underlying cutting mat.
Once sample is cut release activation button to stop motor. Eject sample.
When finished unplug and replace tip cover cap. Return unit to storage case.


Remove cover cap from tip

Place cutting sleeve perpendicular over sampling area. Activate power and bring tip into contact with the sampling surface.	Depress ejection button to eject sample.

The sample substrate or source material must rest on a hard support such as the Harris Cutting Mat™. This support pushes against the cored sample after the Harris e-Core™ blade has cut through the substrate and made contact with the underlying mat. This results in urging the sample into the Harris e-Core™ cutting sleeve lumen for storage, transfer and subsequent ejection.

The coring operation involves the use of both hands. One hand is used to hold the sample and support in intimate contact, while the other hand operates the Harris e-Core™. The most efficient and complete coring action is achieved only when the entire Harris e-Core™ blade is in uniform contact with the substrate surface. This will ensure that the downward pressure is uniformly applied to the entire blade/sample surface interface.

Storage

Once a sample has been cored it is simultaneously retrieved into the Harris e-Core™ lumen where it may be temporarily stored. The sample will not dislodge from the lumen until ready for ejection.

Sample Ejection

The unique graduated plunger/ejection mechanism allows for samples to be rapidly ejected into micro-titre plate wells or more slowly ejected to position the sample on a slide or sample stage. The long cutting sleeve length also allows for placement of samples into confined sample chambers.

Cleaning

The Harris e-Core™ cuts rather than shears or tears samples from substrates. This cutting/coring action reduces or eliminates the creation of artefacts and possible cross contamination between collected samples. To further ensure the elimination of potential artefacts from adhering to the Harris e-Core™ cutting edge we recommend either washing the cutting edge with ethanol between sampling applications or spraying with compressed air.

Blank samples may also be cored between genuine samplings to reduce or remove potential artefacts. The end of the coring tip may also be passed through a flame for 5 to10 seconds to remove artefacts. The Harris Cutting Mat™ should also be washed with ethanol between sample extractions to remove artefacts lodged on, or in the mat.