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Harris Micro-Punch® (HMP) Operation

IMPORTANT: Do not depress plunger when coring.

Position sample substrate on Harris Cutting Mat™.
Position Harris Micro-Punch® tip over area of interest and in uniform contact with the sample surface.
Coring is achieved by simultaneously applying downward pressure while rotating the barrel of the Harris Micro-Punch® in your fingers in a clockwise/counter clockwise manner.
Hold substrate down with opposite hand as the Harris Micro-Punch® is removed from the substrate with the sample in the lumen.
Once a sample has been cored it is simultaneously retrieved into the Harris Micro-Punch® lumen where it may be temporarily stored.
The stored sample is now ready for transfer and ejection for different analytical applications.
Cleaning: The tip of the Harris Micro-Punch® and Harris Cutting Mat™ may be washed with ethanol. The Harris Micro-Punch® tip may also be passed through a flame or core blank filter paper between sampling.


Coring sampling from FTA Card	Ejecting sample onto Erie slide

There are several ways to grip the Harris Micro-Punch® when coring a sample. This may vary based on personal comfort, hand size, choice of hand, and may be further dependent on sample type and sample support, i.e. Harris Cutting Mat™ or other (i.e. gel plate).

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 Micro-Punch® blade has cut through the substrate and made contact with the underlying mat. This results in urging the sample into the Harris Micro-Punch® 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 Micro-Punch®. The most efficient and complete coring action is achieved only when the entire Harris Micro-Punch® 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 while simultaneously rotating the Harris Micro-Punch® in opposite directions.

When using a Harris Micro-Punch® cutting sleeve above 3.0mm i.d it may be necessary to grip the Harris Micro-Punch® lower on the barrel nearer the finger rest. This will ensure better control and uniform blade/sample surface contact when rotation is applied. It may also be necessary to grip the Harris Micro -Punch® lower on the barrel due to the density of the sample media in order to apply more pressure to affect coring.

Storage

Once a sample has been cored it is simultaneously retrieved into the Harris Micro-Punch® 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 Micro-Punch® 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 Micro-Punch® 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.