(PJ e3) DIY gene gun for plant bombardment

Here's the original write up I followed:
www.oreilly.co...
Blog Post:
pipettejockey.c...
Followup video vs. Helios:
• (PJ e4) Helios gene gu...

[@evanneiman5379]

Why... doesn’t this have a ton more views? This is grade A

[@pipettejockey7464]

Thanks for the kind words! I would love to do this kind of thing full time, it's something I'm slowly working towards. There's so, so much more planned for the channel and the blog in the future, just gotta finish the last few months of academia and the sky is the limit :):)

[@lukehebert6207]

Thank you so much for making this video public! And for the well worded description

[@pipettejockey7464]

Thank you! I'm working on my on-camera speaking skills, especially the umms and ahhhs :)

[@JosephAlaiManifests]

Where do you buy the genes, though?

[@craig-3799]

A first, except perhaps for Dr Sanford's original gene gun which would probably qualify as DIY. I think it, or one of his early models is in the Smithsonian.

[@iamnoone2239]

very informative thank you....how fast does the solanode shut ...or is it just the full blast of the pressure chamber?

[@pipettejockey7464]

Fun question, at the moment I shoot short pulses, I have the arduino sending a 80 ms pulse to the transistor, which turns on the solenoid. However doing it this way you have to add the turn on/off time of the transistor and on/off time of the solenoid, and you'd have to look at the datasheet for your individual situation but I think its 2-3ms for the transistor and 10-20ms for the solenoid. Pulse time should be enough to accelerate your tungsten but not so much that it shreds your plant into tiny pieces...takes a bit of trial and error

[@AdkAqua]

How was your success rate with transformation using this?

[@pipettejockey7464]

It was variable, mostly dependant on the release of the particles from the parafilm bullet, sometimes you would get a nice spread of GUS transformed cells, sometimes one or two. Fairly recently I acquired a Helios so I have something to compare against, it really is all about the bullet coating and subsequent release. Mind you, the Helios bullets are a pain in the ass to coat, but they release better.

[@AdkAqua]

@@pipettejockey7464 good to know. I've been debating on whether or not to make and use one like this... Or just try to find a reasonable cost source of agrobacterium. I'll have to keep that in mind thanks!

[@martianmatt392]

@@AdkAqua did you find a source of agro?

[@МихаилИванов-б2л]

Some segments in the video are stamped not adjacent to each other