Probe_care

Probe shanks should be rinsed with deionized water as soon after removing from brain/solution as possible, i.e. before saline solution has had a chance to dry and deposit crystals on the recording sites. The crystals will impair recording quality, though any effect of these for the next recording should be transient, as the crystals will re-dissolve. After rinsing, soaking in deionized water is optimal, this can be done overnight.

The probe shank can also be soaked in a tergazyme solution to clean biological material. Beware to not leave the probe too long in tergazyme, as the tergazyme can evaporate and leave protein aggregates clumped up on the probe, which may be difficult to remove. After soaking in tergazyme, it should be rinsed with deionized water and ideally left to soak more than an hour in deionized water.

It is also possible to sonicate the probe briefly to remove protein aggregates (e.g. using a sonicator similar to this: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/ultrasonic-cleaners/1368566/).

It is recommended to cover the "backside components" of the probe with epoxy, particularly if there is any chance of them coming into contact with saline. The formation of crystals on these components, or any corrosion, could break the probe.