After using the pipette for so many years, I used the wrong pipette! No wonder the experiment never came to fruition
Air piston pipette
Air piston pipettes are mainly used for quick and easy precise pipetting. By moving the pipette piston up and down, negative or positive pressure is created so that the liquid is drawn in or out. When done correctly, the liquid does not come into direct contact with the piston, and there is a column of air in the middle, allowing precise pipetting without contamination and simplicity. But this also limits the application of air-type piston pipettes, which can affect the accuracy of pipetting when pipetting liquids that seriously affect the air column. For example, when pipetting highly viscous or highly volatile liquids, high-precision pipetting becomes difficult.
External piston pipette
External piston pipettes are often used for repeated pipetting or reverse pipetting. Compared with the former, the piston of the external piston pipette will be in contact with the liquid. The piston sucks the liquid through a vacuum, and the liquid on the outer wall of the piston can be accurately discharged, even if the complex liquid is pipetted or there are factors affecting the air column. Piston pipettes ensure repeatable pipetting with high precision. However, the piston of the air piston pipette is located inside the device, and the latter is located inside the external tip, so the external piston pipette requires more time to replace the tip and higher consumables cost.
In general, air-displacement pipettes are an excellent choice for quick and frequent pipetting, and when handling complex liquids, the accuracy of external-displacement pipettes will be even better.
So how can we choose the right pipette, and what factors do we need to consider when choosing?
01 Liquid Properties
The properties of pipetting liquids usually have a decisive impact on the performance of pipetting equipment. For example, when pipetting, the following media will seriously affect the pipetting performance of the originally accurate and stable air piston pipette.
Under normal circumstances, when encountering problems that cannot be solved by air-piston pipettes such as high-viscosity liquids, it is usually recommended to replace them with external piston pipettes. However, due to the difference in the viscosity of the liquid suitable for different equipment, you can refer to the table below and choose according to the properties of different liquids.
02 Pipetting volume
Pipetting volume is an important factor that must also be considered when choosing a pipetting device. For example, the Yongyue Medical single channel pipette can provide high-precision pipetting of small volumes, but it has a limited range of pipetting volumes. In order to improve pipetting stability and repeatability, it is necessary to achieve the target volume in one-step pipetting as much as possible, so it is necessary to determine the range of pipetting liquid volume and which equipment can meet the pipetting requirements.
03 Pipetting throughput
Generally, a single sample discharge can meet the experimental needs, but in some experiments, multiple consecutive discharges or parallel discharges can greatly improve the pipetting efficiency.
There are various parameters or standards for selecting the best pipetting products, but in the end, it is necessary to weigh different parameters and the characteristics of pipetting products according to specific experimental requirements in order to select a more suitable product. We summarize the above common parameters and the characteristics of Yongyue medical pipetting products to help you choose suitable pipetting products.
As a well-known pipetting equipment manufacturer in the industry, Yongyue Medical provides a full line of pipetting equipment, whether it is an air piston pipette or an external piston pipette, Yongyue Medical can help you choose the best suitable pipette. High-quality pipetting equipment for your application.
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