Published: September 6th, 2017 Last Modified: September 7th, 2017
For a long, long time I had lusted after the Helios gene gun. It was, as far as I was concerned, the top of the line method of bombarding your cells. Not that there was much competition, Bio-rad for the longest time was (and arguably still is) the only legit manufacturer of gene guns. At a hefty 30,000$ it’s not a piece of equipment you buy on a lark. So quite a bit of time and effort was spent in creating a DIY alternative with reasonable success.
Once in a while, though, fortune smiles upon a humble potato farmer like myself. A very generous donor actually gave me a Helios gene gun, new in box, unopened! Thank you!!! Following the teaching of our patron saint, Dave Jones, what’s the first thing I did? Turn it on? NO. TAKE IT APART!
What follows is a look at the internals of the Helios gene gun and my thoughts on it’s construction. As well, I compare it to my gene gun, which is in it’s Mk.II revision, to see just how well my gear stacks up against the pros. Lets go!
Pictures and other thoughts
I decided to copy Bio-rad’s barrel tip design, it should be superior to my solid piece. Was done on a 3D printer.
You put your gene bullets filled with gold into this revolver cartridge type deal.
Here’s a look at some of the internals.
Check it out, looks like copycats of the Helios gene gun and PDS-100 have begun to pop up on Alibaba.
