Top 5 Tips for People Who Use Pipettes

Brian Harris

5 years ago

1	Always hold the pipette vertically while pipetting. In particular, using fixed-volume MiniPets at an angle can draw extract into the body of the pipette, resulting in clogs and worse, inaccurate volume measurements.

2	Always use a new tip for every new transfer. To ensure that the Buffers supplied in the kits won’t accidentally get contaminated with extract, they are supplied with 100 tips for the MiniPet-type pipettes. Product instructions specify the order of pipetting solutions as well as the need to use a new tip for each transfer. Better safe than sorry!

2a	Always use the correct size tip for your pipette. Most of our customers use MiniPets, which take 20-200 uL tips (supplied in the kits). The adjustable pipettes we recommend for larger volume transfers take 100-1000 uL tips (available as an Accessory item through EnviroLogix).

3	Depress the ‘plunger’ smoothly and completely when drawing up and expelling liquids. Any half-hearted or overly vigorous plunging will result in inaccurate volumes and thus, inaccurate results.

4	Avoid particulates when accessing sample extracts. Some protocols call for filtering or centrifuging extracts, which makes it super simple to avoid drawing up any solid ground materials. But some protocols require allowing a sample to settle before drawing up liquid. In these cases, it is extremely important to lower the pipette tip into the extract to an area that is clear of ground material. Any solids that are drawn up into the pipette can interfere with the proper volume being delivered, not only for that sample, but for subsequent draws as well.

5	Calibrate or replace pipettes regularly. Do you use a MiniPet like this? It is only guaranteed accurate for about a year depending on use; to be sure it is still delivering proper volume, it should be replaced annually. Do you use an adjustable pipette like this? Manufacturers recommend these pipettes be calibrated annually by an accredited service.