What is a micropipette?
A micropipette is a commonly used laboratory instrument for measuring small volumes of liquids ranging from 1 to 1000 µl. Micropipettes are also used to transfer precise amounts of liquids from one container to another.
Micropipettes are commonly used in microbiology, chemical, medical and soil testing laboratories for precise transfer of different liquid samples. While single-channel micropipettes are used in laboratories performing research related to molecular biology, microbiology, immunology, cell culture, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and genetics, multi-channel micropipettes are recommended for ELISA ( diagnostic tests), molecular screening, kinetic studies and DNA amplification.
How to use a micropipette?
There are several steps to follow to properly use a micropipette:
1. Set up the desired micropipette.
2. To aspirate, press and hold the plunger at the first stop.
3. Place the tip vertically into the liquid.
Note: The angle should not exceed 20 degrees. As the angle changes, so does the hydrostatic pressure inside the pipette tip. As a result, the inspiratory volume will be inconsistent. It is best to dip the pipette tip below the liquid surface (2-3 mm) in order to aspirate the desired volume. Immersion of the pipette tip too deep increases the risk of droplets sticking to the outside of the pipette tip.
pipette
4. Slowly loosen the plunger to draw liquid into the tip.
5. Pause, then carefully remove the tip from the liquid container.
6. Insert the tip into the delivery container.
7. Make sure the tip is touching the inner wall of the vessel (it is recommended to tilt the tip 45 degrees for proper liquid release), then press the plunger to the second stop.
8. Pause, then remove the tip from the container.
9. After completing the experiment, remove the tip with the help of the tip ejector. For high accuracy, remember to change tips frequently by popping them into the waste container.
What types of micropipettes are there?
Micropipettes can be classified according to the following criteria:
According to the working principle
Air displacement micropipettes: In air displacement pipettes, a small air cushion exists between the plunger and the liquid solution during the process. These types of pipettes are very precise and suitable for a variety of tubing applications.
Positive Displacement Micropipettes: With positive displacement pipettes, the piston replaces the air cushion and slides along the inner edge of the capillary for easy pipetting of viscous, dense, and surfactant liquids.
By operating mechanism
Mechanical Micropipettes: These micropipettes are manually operated based on a piston shaft spring mechanism.
Electronic Micropipettes: Electronic pipettes are more accurate than manual pipetting and are largely automated. Electronic pipettes remove manual controls on the pipette. The volume is set electronically, and at the touch of a button, the plunger moves up and down electronically, with no room for human error.
According to the number of channels
Single-Channel Pipette: A single-channel micropipette is a micropipette with a single channel to aspirate or dispense liquids.
Multichannel pipettes: Multichannel micropipettes have multiple channels for aspirating or dispensing liquids. It is usually available in 8-channel, 12-channel and 16-channel variants.
According to capacity or capacity
Fixed volume micropipettes: In fixed volume micropipettes, the volume of liquid to be aspirated or dispensed remains constant. These micropipettes are used when the same amount of liquid must be dispensed multiple times.
Variable Volume Micropipette: This micropipette has a specific minimum and maximum volume range. The amount of liquid to be aspirated or dispensed (within the volume limits of the micropipette) can be adjusted according to the user's requirements.
What are the applications of micropipettes?
Some of the main areas where micropipettes are widely used are:
Pharmaceuticals: It assists with a variety of pharmaceutical experiments, from the sampling and analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), impurities, excipients, and pharmaceutical solutions, to pharmaceutical starting materials, including finished pharmaceutical products (FPPs).
Healthcare: In healthcare sectors such as blood banks and pathology laboratories, preparing blood and plasma samples to initiate any type of testing is essential.
Food and Beverages: It requires research, production, analysis and quality control of food and its related products, especially beverages and drinking water, milk and dairy products, and edible oils and fats.
Environmental Monitoring: Helps with various tests related to soil, water and pollution control.
Academic and Research Institutions: Provides students and researchers easy access to a variety of life science applications, including cell and tissue culture, microbiology, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, and stem cell research.
Diagnostic Kits: Micropipettes provide your diagnostic kit with a sophisticated combination of mobility and accuracy in pathogen detection, veterinary testing, meat speciation, fish speciation, GMO detection, allergen testing, and more support.
Life Sciences: Molecular biology research and related experiments such as DNA RNA purification, PCR, RT PCR, primers and probes, cloning, proteomics and drug discovery.
