Store in Fridge at 2-8 C before use. Operation of sensor after use-by date is not guaranteed.

Prepare Buffer A: containing 10 mM NaPi buffer, pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM MgCl₂, 2 mM glycerol. Pour a suitable volume of Buffer A into rehydration pot, and immerse the tip of the sensor into the buffer. Leave for at least 10 min.

This will improve sensor sensitivity by up to 3 fold. Cycle the sensor from -500 mV to + 500 mV and back at a rate of 100 mV/s for 10 cycles. Then polarize to +500 mV for calibration.

To test against the specific analyte, place sensor and Ag/AgCl reference electrode in the bath, connect Ag/AgCl reference electrode and sensor to 2-electrode potentiostat and polarize to +500 mV. Allow sensor current to decay to an asymptote -take zero reading then expose the sensor to analyte.

Typically test with 10 μM serotonin, 10 μM dopamine and 100 μM ascorbate acid

Regular calibration during an experiment is necessary to monitor for possible loss of sensor sensitivity after contact with tissue. Loss of sensor activity can be partially restored by cycling as described above. Sensors should be calibrated out of contact with tissue -as the tissue impedes free access of exogenous analyte to the sensor surface. If the tissue is in a flow chamber, the simplest procedure is to withdraw the sensor from the tissue and allow a test solution of analyte (e.g. 10 µM to flow through).

Note that calibration of the sensor in a physiological buffer may differ from that recorded in Buffer A due to the different ionic composition of the buffers. The sensor should always be calibrated in a saline of the composition use in the experiment with tissue.