How to Choose and Maintain Pipettes

Pipettes generally remove small or trace amounts of liquids in analytical testing studies. But many friends will be a little confused when buying a pipette and don’t know how to choose a new pipette. Here are some methods:

Single-Channel Adjustable Pipettes 12 Channel Pipette

The ways to choose a pipette:

Product performance:

  • For the vast majority of users, testing product performance before purchasing is difficult and unnecessary.
  • Therefore, mainly the technical data provided by the manufacturer shall prevail. But don’t easily believe the seller’s words, be sure to check the written materials provided by the manufacturer.

Material of pipettes:

  • The durability of the different types of pipettes mainly depends on the material used for the pipette.
  • For the housing, it should have high impact resistance, corrosion resistance, and low thermal conductivity (such as PVDF material).
  • And for the piston, there are three main materials on the market: stainless steel, ceramic, and plastic.
  • Stainless steel has good mechanical properties and long life, but it is not suitable for pipetting strong acids and alkalis.
  • And ceramics have high corrosion resistance, but poor mechanical properties. Of course, quality materials tend to mean higher prices, so you need to consider the purchase price and longevity.
  •  The moving distance of the thumb to complete a pipetting cycle is short, and the comfort is higher.

Affecting comfort of pipettes:

  • Compare the thumb force (pressed to the bottom) required for pipettes of the same volume to complete the discharge, which is the key to affecting comfort.
  •  When loading and unloading the suction head, the less effort the better.
  • The weight of the new pipette, like a single channel pipette, is moderate, too heavy will increase the burden on the hand, but too light also often means that the material may be slightly poor.
  • Other auxiliary designs, such as shell frosting design, finger hook design, etc., help to further improve comfort.

Daily maintenance of the pipettes:

Correct posture when pipetting:

  • Do not hold the pipette tightly at all times, use a pipette with finger hooks to help relieve hand fatigue; it is possible to fight back frequently.

Regularly clean the pipette:

  • Use alcohol cotton, and mainly wipe the handle, the ejector, and the outside of the sleeve, which can keep the appearance and reduce the possibility of contamination of the sample.
  • After absorbing the highly volatile and highly turbid liquid, the disassembled whole pipette, the piston rod, rinsed the inner wall of the sleeve with distilled water, and then installed and used after drying.
  • In order to prevent volatile gas from being adsorbed on the surface of the piston rod for a long time, it will corrode the piston rod and damage the pipette.
  • And adjust the range of the pipette to the maximum value if not used, and the spring is in the state of being sent to protect the spring.
  • Corrected the pipette by 1-2 words every year (depending on the frequency of use).
  • Regularly check the seal of the pipette. Once the seal is aging or leaking, replaced the seal in time.
  • For most pipettes, before use and after a period of use, applied a layer of lubricating oil to the piston sealing ring to maintain tightness.
  • Electric pipettes are precision instruments, especially the motor inside, which needs special protection. When using it, handle it with care to avoid impact to avoid damage.

There are more introduces about the adjustable pipettes used methods, how to disinfect a pipette, etc.