Whether you chose a career in research or are a microbiologist or a lab technician, the pipette is an instrument you probably need to work with all the time. You probably spend a large part of your day pipetting different materials and using them in correspondence with a number of different instruments.
No one would appreciate it if the pipettes were to get ruined early or not last enough time. Lab instruments are costly and it is not very cost-effective to keep replacing them over and over again.
Want to preserve your pipettes for a longer time? Here are a few tips!
Tips To Preserve The Longevity Of Pipettes
1.  Store Them On A Pipette Stand
Lots of you make the mistake of not storing them on a stand and laying them down. Do NOT do this. This is because laying them down gives way to a few problems, such as
- Misalignment of the piston, leading to misinterpretation of calibrations
- The piston can get more worn out than usual, due to excessive collection of piston lubricant on one side
- The liquid inside can corrode the body of the pipette by going further inside. This is especially harmful to the instrument if the liquid is corrosive
Not just that, storing pipettes in a stand helps avoid them rolling over and falling. They also help steer clear of any spillage of liquid. It keeps the workplace organized and managed. Working with them will seem easy as all of them will be on the stand. No confusion as to where a specific pipette is will be created.
One easy hack will help you elude so many problems. Be sure to follow this every time!
2.  Always Remove The Attached Tips
After your work is done, remove the pipette tips immediately. This is because there might be liquid residue left on the tip. This could go into the body of the pipette and ruin the pipette. This is especially harmful if the liquid experimented with was corrosive.
Using the right-sized pipette tips is also important. You can buy differently sized Tecan conductive filter tips in sizes 50 ul or 220 ul. Molecular biology products is a company that provides high-quality filter tips at good prices so that your pipettes are protected from contamination and your pipettes last for a long time to come.
3.  Prevent Contamination
Usually, direct contact with the pipette is avoided with the liquids that need to be pipetted. Occasionally, this could happen due to a number of reasons. For example, if you aspirate more liquid than the volume of the tip, or if you lay it down with liquid present in the tip. It could also happen if corrosive liquids are used but you do not use unfiltered tips.
If something like this happens, it is important you perform decontamination on an urgent basis. To perform thorough decontamination, it is important you disassemble the pipette and then rinse it properly with distilled water. Once you are done with this, check everything for any damage or remaining residue that could be present.
Once it is dry, check its function. If the calibrations are correct. The pipette is not leaking and there are no other problems, your pipette is good to go.
4.  Avoid Re-Using Pipette Tips
Reusing pipette tips is a BAD idea in most cases. It could cause cross-contamination and mixing of different samples of liquid. Your results could be very badly compromised and the experiment could suffer.
Even if you are not sure whether a tip is contaminated or clean, throw it out and do not take the risk. Because if any residue is left, it could interfere with all your other experiments. This is why it is better to use new pipette tips.
Are you in search of high-quality and efficient pipette tips? We, at molecular biology products, have a variety of types and sizes available for you to carry out your experiments with ease. We also have Tecan conductive filter tips available in a variety of sizes such as 220 ul and 50 ul. Get yours now!
Wrapping up
These were a few tips for the proper maintenance of pipettes and to ensure that they last for a long time. If you follow these correctly, your pipettes will live a long and happy life for an unexpectedly long time. Happy experimenting!
