Pipette tips are available in a vast range to choose from. It is crucial to know which is the best for your pipette. If you’re new to this and clueless about choosing one, we’re here to help you get an understanding of this so that you can choose the correct pipette tip and rid yourself of costly experimental errors:
Check Material :
The first thing to check while purchasing a pipette tip is its material. A good pipette tip is made using high-quality virgin polypropylene. Be careful of plastic and metal additives usually found in blue and yellow tips. These additives can contaminate your samples and add another hassle to your demanding job. While selecting a filtered tip, make sure that it has a polyethylene filter and is free from additives such as cellulose.
Check Mold Quality:
Pipette tips are manufactured using an injection molding machine. The resulting shape and quality of the tip are based on the design of the mold and the quality of the polypropylene being injected into the mold. Make sure when purchasing that the quality is premium.
Make sure its Contaminant Free:
It is highly recommended that you only buy tips that have been certified to be free of RNase, DNase, DNA, Pyrogen, PCR Inhibitors, and ATP. If you’re performing sensitive microbiological testing, this becomes more critical as there is absolutely no place for any risk. If the sample gets contaminated, it will get ruined. Make sure to purchase tips manufactured according to the quality standards and suitable for pipetting of radioactive samples, nucleic amplification, Procedures or any application that requires critical sample handling. Hamilton filter tips are an excellent example of this.
Check its Fit/Compatibility:
Not all pipette tips are compatible with every pipettor. Therefore you should ensure that the tip you are purchasing fits your pipettors without forcing the tip onto the pipette. It should fit and stay firm in place without any extra force. Most pipette tip companies provide you with a compatibility chart that helps you choose an appropriately fitting tip. However, most tips are compatible with almost all the popular brands of pipettors globally.
You can try Low Retention :
The exponentially increasing popularity of low retention tips is remarkable. Generally regarded as a premium tip, these tips can cost you a bit more but are indeed worth the price. When you’re purchasing low retention tips, it’s essential to ensure that the tips have no secondary process during manufacturing. Secondary processing such as silicone coating can cause compounds leaching from the tip during use. (Westlab)
Go for High-Quality Pipette Tips:
When choosing a tip type, the first to keep in mind is precision and accuracy. Any batch-to- batch, or within batch variation in the shape of the pipette tips, will compromise the precision of your experiment. This is a quality control issue, so it’s recommended that you steer away from cheap tips and buy good quality. Though they’ll cost you a bit more, it is generally safer to opt for an excellent company to get minimum variability between tips. Also, if the tip does not fit your pipette correctly, it will affect the accuracy of your pipette. If the seal between your pipette barrel and the tip is poor, the drawn-in air could escape Disabling you to aspirate the correct volume of the liquid. Therefore, the final volume dispensed is not absolutely correct.
Cost Considerations:
Pipette tips come with numerous additional features like graduated markings, barriers, etc., for accuracy, precision, and ease of use. When you’re buying one of those, check if there is a price for the added features. If it costs you extra, choose those tips when they are experimentally necessary. For example, barrier tips cost more than non-barrier tips. So, you might consider saving the barrier tips for sensitive applications where contamination could result in the wrecking of your experiment and use the sterile, non-barrier tips for other not-so-sensitive experiments. (Biotix)
To wrap up:
Achieve accurate and precise measurements with your pipette and tip work together. The variety of tips can be confusing, but this guide will help you buy the most suitable tips for each of your experiments. Visit microbiology products to get the best pipette tips like hamilton and Biomek filter tips.
Works Cited
Biotix. “How to Choose the Right Pipette Tips for your Experiment.” Biotix, 27 September 2016, https://biotix.com/how-to-choose-the-right-pipette-tips-for-your-experiment/. Accessed 4 December 2021.
Westlab. “A Guide to Choosing a Pipette Tip Westlab.” Westlab, 13 November 2019, https://www.westlab.com/blog/2019/11/13/a-guide-to-choosing-a-pipette-tip. Accessed 4 December 2021.
