Micropipettes

Confused about all the options for pipettors? Let's start with a definition of the micropipette. Micropipettes are used for accurately delivering volumes between 1ul and 1000ul. These pipettors are used largely in biochemistry and microbiology where sample volumes can be very small. There are fixed volume pipettes and adjustable volume pipettes. Adjustable pipettes have a range of volumes for which they are designed. In general accuracy of a microliter pipette ranges from 0.5 % to 5%. Accuracy increases with increasing volume and the coefficient of variation (% CV) decreases with increasing volume. Electronic Pipettors significantly reduce operator strain from repetitive pipetting. Multichannel pipettors are also available; multi pipettors can have up to 12 channels. Some of the manufacturers of micropipettors are: Eppendorf, BrandTech, Labnet, Biohit, Wheaton, and Thermo Scientific to name a few. For instructions on how to pipette please refer to this link for Jamie Welch at EnviroLogix, Inc. I will discuss pipette tips at a future date.