How to Improve Your Pipetting Performance with Dense and Hazardous Liquids
Is there a simple pipetting solution for scientists working with viscous liquids such as oil and blood?
16 Nov 2017
Ever wondered why your standard air displacement pipette struggles when pipetting ‘tricky’ liquids? Read on to discover how to improve your pipetting by using positive displacement pipettes, when working with liquids such as oils and blood.
In most circumstances air displacement pipettes offer a highly-accurate solution for dispensing liquids, however they can be adversely affected by the volatility, surface tension and temperature of the solution you’re working with. To combat this, Gilson has developed the MICROMAN® E, a positive displacement pipette.
In this Q&A with Gilson, we explore how positive displacement improves results with these liquids.
How do positive displacement pipettes work?
Positive displacement pipettes are used with a piston integrated in a disposable tip. The piston has direct contact with the sample, and ensures positive displacement of the liquid to be dispensed without the presence of an unprotected airspace.
Why is this system better?
The benefits are twofold. Firstly, the absence of an unprotected airspace minimizes the chance of vapor or aerosol contamination. Secondly, the liquid’s properties cannot influence the volume of the liquid aspirated or dispensed, making the pipetting process more accurate.
What makes the MICROMAN® E so special?
The MICROMAN® E has been designed by highly-skilled engineers in partnership with scientists at the bench. We have over 60 years’ experience developing pipettes. In the case of the MICROMAN® E, this pipette has been designed in collaboration with researchers and delivers contamination free results.
We are particularly proud of the improved comfort and ease-of-use this pipette offers, including:
- A newly shaped handle, with an added finger hook
- Fully-visible volumeter, with volume securing button
- Large push button which allows you to aspirate and dispense with ease
The MICROMAN® E uses disposable capillaries and piston, are these easy to use?
Yes, we have a patented QuickSnap capillary piston fitting system that allows you to fit a capillary piston on to MICROMAN® E as simply as fitting a standard tip to a standard pipette. They are designed to fit the MICROMAN® E perfectly, and using them ensures the optimal performance of the pipette.
For more information on the results obtained with the MICROMAN® E, check out this informative white paper.
What applications do you see the MICROMAN® E being used for?
The MICROMAN® E is suitable to use with all liquids which are typically considered to be harder to work with. This includes viscous, dense, hot, volatile and hazardous liquids.
We have produced a range of application notes on the following topics, which highlight the diversity of the pipette:
- Improve Pipetting of Viscous Liquids in Pharmaceutical Formulations
- Improve HPLC Analytics with Proper Pipetting of Difficult Liquids
- Exact and Secure Pipetting of Plasma and Whole Blood
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Discover more about the MICROMAN® E here >>
Do you already used the MICROMAN® E? Why not leave a review here >>
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MICROMAN® E
Gilson, Inc.The ergonomically designed MICROMAN® E positive displacement pipettes, along with disposable capillary piston (CP) tips, provide the highest precision when pipetting viscous, non-aqueous liquids such as oils, blood, glycerol, and more, while protecting the pipette from contamination. MICROMAN E is available in six models covering a volume range of 1 to 1000 µL. Reliable Dispensing Even with Viscous and Volatile Liquids MICROMAN E relies on positive-displacement technology to improve the precision of transferring viscous and volatile liquids. The capillary piston (CP) tips eliminate the air cushion between the sample and piston so volume accuracy is not affected by the sample’s properties. Tackle these issues with MICROMAN E: Viscous solutions—difficult to aspirate and stick to pipette tips. Volatile solutions—leakages are created from differences between solvent vapor pressure and the air pressure within the pipette. Cold liquids—delivered in excess amounts. Hot liquids—under-delivered amounts. Designed with Comfort and Performance in Mind The Red Dot Award winning design of the MICROMAN E features an improved handle shape that rests comfortably in your hand, with a large push-button for easy aspiration and dispensing. The volume-locking switch allows for easy volume adjustment and minimizes the risk of accidentally changing the volume during pipetting tasks. Overall Protection The positive-displacement technology of the MICROMAN E is ideal when dealing with infectious solutions and radiolabeled components. Since the disposable piston makes direct contact with the sample, the user and the pipette are protected. Within molecular biology and forensic sciences, any trace of a previous sample can lead to erroneous results and the disposable CP tips provide absolute protection against cross-contamination.