Thermo Scientific Invitrogen Qubit Flex Fluorometer User manual

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer
USER GUIDE
Catalog Number A44984, A45924, A45925
Publication Number MAN0018186
Revision A.0

ii Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Manufacturer: Life Technologies Holdings Pte Ltd | Block 33 | Marsiling Industrial Estate Road 3 | #07-06, Singapore 739256
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
DISCLAIMER: TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC AND/OR ITS AFFILIATE(S) WILL NOT BE
LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, MULTIPLE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH
OR ARISING FROM THIS DOCUMENT, INCLUDING YOUR USE OF IT.
Revision history: MAN0018186
Revision Date Description
A.0 11 October 2019 New user guide.
Important Licensing Information: This product may be covered by one or more Limited Use Label Licenses. By use of this product,
you accept the terms and conditions of all applicable Limited Use Label Licenses.
Trademarks: All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified. Kimwipes is
a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
© 2019 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved.

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 1
Contents
About this guide...........................................................................................................3
1. Product information ...............................................................................................5
Product contents.............................................................................................................................................. 5
Product description......................................................................................................................................... 6
Instrument exterior components ................................................................................................................... 7
Product specifications ..................................................................................................................................... 8
2. Getting started......................................................................................................10
Set up the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer............................................................................................................ 10
Connect to the network ................................................................................................................................ 12
After instrument setup ................................................................................................................................. 14
Sign in ............................................................................................................................................................. 16
Guidelines for using the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer................................................................................... 23
3. Perform assays.....................................................................................................24
Before you begin............................................................................................................................................ 24
(Optional) Use the Assay Range Calculator to determine the assay range ............................................ 26
Use the Reagent Calculator to prepare Qubit™Working Solution ......................................................... 30
Run standards for assay calibration............................................................................................................ 32
Read samples ................................................................................................................................................. 36
Results............................................................................................................................................................. 43
(Optional) Use the Molarity Calculator to determine sample molarity .................................................. 45
(Optional) Use the Normalization Calculator to determine how to dilute the samples to the
same molarity, concentration, or mass ....................................................................................................... 48
4. Manage data.........................................................................................................58
View detailed sample data ........................................................................................................................... 58
Edit sample name .......................................................................................................................................... 63
Export data ..................................................................................................................................................... 66
Delete data...................................................................................................................................................... 70
5. Configure instrument settings..............................................................................72
Instrument settings........................................................................................................................................ 72
Sleep mode ..................................................................................................................................................... 73
Brightness ....................................................................................................................................................... 74
Date and Time................................................................................................................................................ 75
Network connection...................................................................................................................................... 78
Reset instrument............................................................................................................................................ 84
Language ........................................................................................................................................................ 85
Cloud region .................................................................................................................................................. 86

2Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
6. Instrument maintenance ......................................................................................87
Maintenance and cleaning............................................................................................................................ 87
Software updates........................................................................................................................................... 88
System verification ........................................................................................................................................ 90
Replace battery .............................................................................................................................................. 95
Appendix A: Troubleshooting....................................................................................97
Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................. 97
Critical Qubit™Assay considerations ......................................................................................................... 99
Appendix B: Ordering information ..........................................................................101
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer and accessories ................................................................................................ 101
Appendix C: Safety ..................................................................................................102
Symbols on instruments ............................................................................................................................. 102
Safety labels on instruments ...................................................................................................................... 103
General instrument safety .......................................................................................................................... 104
Chemical safety............................................................................................................................................ 105
Chemical waste safety................................................................................................................................. 106
Electrical safety ............................................................................................................................................ 107
Biological hazard safety.............................................................................................................................. 108
Safety, Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and Environmental standards ................................... 109
Documentation and support ...................................................................................111
Obtaining support ....................................................................................................................................... 111

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 3
About this guide
Overview
This user guide describes how to operate the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer.
User
documentation
The guides listed below are available with the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer.
Guide Pub. No.
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide MAN0018186
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer Quick Reference Card (QRC) MAN0018187
Additional resources are available on the Qubit™Technical Resources page. Go to
thermofisher.com/qubit
to access protocols, application notes, and tutorials.
Text and keyboard
conventions
Text and keyboard conventions used in the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide are
listed below. For safety alert words and symbols used in Thermo Fisher Scientific
user documentation, see page 4.
Convention Use
Bold Bold text indicates user action. For example:
Click Run.
Right arrow symbol () indicates a menu choice, and
separates successive commands you execute or select from a
drop-down or shortcut menu. For example:
Select SettingsInstrument Settings.
User attention
words
Two user attention words appear in Thermo Fisher Scientific user documentation.
Each word implies a particular level of observation or action as described below.
Note: Provides information that may be of interest or help but is not
critical to the use of the product.
IMPORTANT! Provides information that is necessary for proper
instrument operation, accurate installation, or safe use of a chemical.

4Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Safety alert words
Four safety alert words appear in Thermo Fisher Scientific user documentation at
points in the document where you need to be aware of relevant hazards. Each
alert word—IMPORTANT, CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER—implies a
particular level of observation or action, as defined below:
IMPORTANT! – Provides information that is necessary for proper
instrument operation, accurate installation, or safe use of a chemical.
CAUTION! – Indicates a potentially hazardous situation that, if not
avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury. It may also be used to
alert against unsafe practices.
WARNING! – Indicates a potentially hazardous situation that, if not
avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
DANGER! – Indicates an imminently hazardous situation that, if not
avoided, will result in death or serious injury. This signal word is to be
limited to the most extreme situations.
Except for IMPORTANT! safety alerts, each safety alert word in a Thermo Fisher
Scientific document appears with an open triangle figure that contains a hazard
symbol. These hazard symbols are identical to the hazard symbols that are affixed
to Thermo Fisher Scientific instruments (see “Safety symbols” in Appendix C).
SDSs
The Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for any chemicals supplied by Thermo Fisher
Scientific are available to you free 24 hours a day. For instructions on obtaining
SDSs, see “Safety Data Sheets (SDS)”.
IMPORTANT! For the SDSs of chemicals not distributed by Thermo
Fisher Scientific contact the chemical manufacturer.

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 5
1. Product information
Product contents
The Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer (Cat. No. A44984) is shipped with the following
components:
Component Quantity
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer 1 each
Qubit™Flex power cord (shipped separately)[1] 1 each
USB drive 1 each
Qubit™Flex LAN cable 1 each
Qubit™Flex Fluorometer Quick Reference Card (QRC) 1 each
Certificate of Conformity (COC) 1 each
Qubit™screen cleaning cloth 1 each
Wi-Fi Dongle 1 each
[1] The power cords for the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer are not interchangeable with those for
the other Qubit™Fluorometer models. Powering the instrument with an unapproved power
cord can irreversibly damage the instrument.
The complete user guide is available for download at thermofisher.com/qubit.
See page 6 for the description and specifications of the Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer.
Upon receiving the
instrument
Examine the instrument carefully for damage incurred during transit. Ensure that
all parts of the instrument, including the accessories listed above, are included with
the product. Damage claims must be filed with the carrier; the warranty does not
cover in-transit damage.
See page 10 for instructions to set up the Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer.
Register your
instrument
Go to thermofisher.com/qubit to register your instrument. You will be asked to
supply the serial number, your name, and your contact details. Registering your
instrument ensures that you will receive notifications of software upgrades and
information on new assays for use with the Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer.

6Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Product description
Qubit
™
Flex
Fluorometer
The Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer is a benchtop fluorometer for the quantification of
DNA, RNA, microRNA, and protein. With the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer, you can
directly measure the fluorescence of up to 8 samples simultaneously using the
highly sensitive and accurate fluorescence-based Qubit
™
assays.
Features
•
Fast and highly accurate quantification of DNA, RNA, and protein of up to
8 samples simultaneously in ~3 seconds.
•High levels of accuracy using only 1–20 µL of sample, even with very dilute
samples.
•Use of dyes selective for dsDNA, RNA, or protein minimizes the effects of
contaminants in the sample.
•Stores results from up to 10,000 samples.
•8-inch, state-of-the-art color touchscreen for easy workflow navigation.
•Instrument indicates samples that are in the extended range or out of range.
•Saves sample data as a CSV (comma separated value) file.
•On-board Reagent and Range Calculators provide instructions to prepare
Qubit™working solution using your sample and standard inputs and to select
the most accurate assay for your expected concentration range.
•On-board Molarity and Normalization Calculators allow you to calculate
molarity of your samples based on nucleic acid length and determine how to
dilute the samples to the same concentration, respectively, using the results
from your assays.
•Allows easy definition and saving of assay preferences.
•Exports data to a USB drive, to a network drive, or to the Connect™cloud-based
platform.
•Connects to the local area network via the LAN (RJ-45) port using an Ethernet
cable or wirelessly using the supplied Wi-Fi adaptor.
•Instrument user interface can be personalized to display in the language of your
choice including English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, simplified Chinese
and Japanese.

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 7
Instrument exterior components
Top view
Rear view
Touchscreen is the user interface containing the controls for all the functions
needed and displays data from the assays.
Sample chamber is used to load the Qubit™Flex Tube Strip containing your
samples into the fluorometer for analysis.
USB drive ports (Type A) allow you to transfer and save data to your computer
using a USB flash drive or wirelessly to a network drive or a Connect™account
using the Wi-Fi dongle (supplied with the instrument).
Power inlet connects the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer to an electrical outlet using
the supplied power cord and the appropriate plug.
LAN port (RJ-45) allows you to connect to the network using an Ethernet cable.

8Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Product specifications
Physical
characteristics
Instrument type: Benchtop fluorometer
Instrument dimensions: 7.3 in (w) × 11.1 in (l) × 4.1 in (h)
(18.6 cm × 28.2 cm × 10.3 cm); rectangular shape
Weight: 60 oz. (1.7 kg)
Operating power: 100–240 ±10% VAC, 1.3 A
Frequency: 50/60 Hz
Electrical input: 48 VDC, 1.87 A
IMPORTANT! If the supplied power fluctuates ±10% beyond the rated
voltage, a power line regulator may be required. High or low voltages can
adversely affect the electronic components of the instrument.
Operating
conditions
Installation site: Indoor use only
Altitude: Between sea level and 2000 m (6500 ft.) above
sea level
Operating temperature: 10–30°C
Operating humidity: 15–80% (non-condensing)
Pollution degree: The instrument has a Pollution Degree rating of II.
The instrument may only be installed in an
environment that has nonconductive pollutants.
Typical environment with a Pollution Degree II
rating are laboratories and sales and commercial
areas.
Technical
specifications
Dynamic range:4 orders of magnitude
Processing time: ≤3 seconds/sample
Light sources:Blue LED (max 460–480 nm)
Red LED (max 620–640 nm)
Excitation filters: Blue 456–484 nm
Red 612–644 nm
Emission filters: Green 513–563 nm
Far-Red 671–693 nm
Detectors: Photodiodes; measurement capability from
320–1100 nm
Calibration type: 2- or 3-point standard
Sample chamber: Accommodates one Qubit™Flex Tube Strip
Tube type: Qubit™Flex Tube Strip (8× 0.2-mL thin-wall
polypropylene tubes; Cat. No. Q33252)
Warm-up time: <35 seconds

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 9
Hardware
Display:8-inch capacitive touchscreen with high resolution
color display
Output ports:3× USB ports
Networking capability:Connection via the LAN (RJ-45) port using an
Ethernet cable or wirelessly using the supplied
Wi-Fi adaptor
Power supply: AC adaptor with country‐specific power cords
USB drive
Capacity: 4 Gigabyte

10 Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
2. Getting started
Set up the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer
Install the
instrument
The Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer is a stand-alone instrument that does not require
connection to a computer.
1. After unpacking the instrument, place the instrument on a flat, level, dry
surface.
2. Plug one end of the supplied power cord into the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer.
3. Attach the appropriate plug adaptor to the other end of the power cord.
4. Plug the power cord into the electrical outlet. Ensure that the power adaptor
plug remains accessible to allow disconnection.
IMPORTANT! Use the power cord plug adapter supplied with the
instrument that is appropriate for the electrical outlet configuration in
your country. Powering the instrument with an unapproved power
cord can irreversibly damage the instrument. Note that the power
cords for the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer are not interchangeable with
those for the other Qubit™Fluorometer models.
5. The instrument automatically powers on, first displaying the splash screen,
then the End User License Agreement (EULA) screen.
Note: The End User License Agreement (EULA) screen is displayed on
the first use of the instrument. On subsequent uses, the Home screen
(page 14) is displayed after the splash screen.
6. Click Accept to accept the terms of the agreement and proceed to “Set
language and date/time options” (page 11).
Note: You can also view and export the EULA from the About
Instrument screen (page 15).
7. To power down the Qubit™Flex Fluorometer, unplug it.

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 11
Set language and
date/time options
After you accept the EULA, the instrument shows the Language displayed and
Date/Time screens, which allow you to set language and date/time options. If you
wish, you can later change the language settings from the SettingsInstrument
SettingsLanguage screen (page 85).
1. On the Language displayed screen, select the Language you want your
instrument to display, then press Next.
Available options are English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese,
and Spanish.
2. On the Date/Time screen, select the Time Zone, set the Date and Time in the
desired format, then press Next.
Note: For detailed instructions on how to configure date/time options
and to set the date and time, see “Set the date and time”, page 75.

12 Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Connect to the network
(Optional) Connect
to the network
After you set language and date/time options, the instrument displays the
Network Connection screen, which allows you to configure network options. If
you wish, you can skip this step and connect to the network later from the
SettingsInstrument settingsNetwork connection screen (page 78).
1. On the Network Connection screen, select Wireless or Wired connection.
If you wish to use the instrument without joining a network, press Skip. You
can always join a network and configure network settings later.
2. Depending on your choice, the instrument displays the Choose Network or
the IP Configuration screen (for Wireless and Wired connection, respectively).
Choose Network screen
(for Wireless connection)
IP Configuration screen
(for Wired connection)

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 13
3. For wireless connection, select the network you want to join, then follow the
on-screen instructions to configure the network options. When finished, press
Join.
For wired connection, configure the network connection options, then press
Done.
For detailed instructions on how to join a network (wireless or wired) and
configure network options, see “Network connection”, page 78.
4. On the Network Connection screen, click Network Drive to map the location
on the network where you want to save your Qubit™Flex files.
For detailed instructions on how to map a network drive, see “Map a network
drive”, page 81.
Note: You must have an established network connection to map a network
drive. If you wish, you can to map the network drive later.

14 Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
After instrument setup
Home screen
After you have set instrument preferences, the instrument automatically displays
the Home screen each time it is powered on.
From the Home screen, you can:
•Sign in to your local instrument profile or your Connect™account.
•Select the assays to perform:
-1X dsDNA High Sensitivity (HS)
-dsDNA High Sensitivity (HS)
-dsDNA Broad Range (BR)
-RNA High Sensitivity (HS)
-RNA Broad Range (BR)
-Protein
-Oligo (ssDNA)
-microRNA
•Access saved data.
•Filter, delete, or export data.
•Configure instrument settings.
•Use the Reagent Calculator to determine the exact volumes of Qubit™buffer
and reagent required to prepare the Qubit™working solution.
•
Use the Range Calculator to determine the best assay to use for your sample.

Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 15
About Instrument
screen
The About Instrument screen displays information about your Qubit™Flex
Fluorometer, including the currently installed software version.
To access the About Instrument screen:
1. On the Home screen, press Settings.
2. On the Settings screen, press About Instrument to display the About
Instrument screen.

3. Press Close or Back ( ) to return to the Settings screen.

16 Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Sign in
Create a local
instrument profile
Qubit
™
Flex Fluorometer allows you to create a local instrument profile for each
user. A local instrument profile allows you to save to a mapped network location
and it is also required to connect to your Connect™account. If you wish, you can
skip this step and create a profile later from the Profile screen.
1. On the Home screen, press the Profile button on the top left corner of
the screen to open the Sign In screen.

2. If you are new to the instrument and have not yet created a profile, press
Get Started to open the Get Started screen, then press Create Profile.


Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide 17
3. On the Create Profile screen, press Create.

If you wish to use the instrument without creating a local profile, press Skip.
You can always create an instrument profile later.
4. Press the User name field, enter the desired user name for the profile (1−20
alphanumeric characters, no spaces), then press Done.
5. Press the PIN field, enter a 4-digit PIN, then press Done.
6. Enter the PIN in the Confirm PIN field, then press Done.
7. Press Create to create the local instrument profile.

18 Qubit™Flex Fluorometer User Guide
Sign in to your
Connect™account
After you have joined a network, you can also connect to your Connect™account,
Thermo Fisher’s cloud-based platform, to store and access your data files.
Note: To connect to the Thermo Fisher Cloud, you must have a Connect™
account or create one. To create your Connect™account online or to sign in
to your existing account, go to thermofisher.com/cloud.
1. Ensure that you are connected to the network on your Qubit™Flex instrument
(page 12).
2. On the Home screen, press the Profile button on the top left corner of
the screen to open the Sign In dialog.

3. On the Sign In screen, press Get Started to open the Get Started screen, then
press Connect to open the Connect to the Cloud screen.
