If your laboratory needs precision pipettes, there are certain things in a company you should look for. Many scientific supply companies can sell you pipettes, of nearly every kind, whether brand name or generic, but what is it exactly that your laboratory needs? Can you settle for the generic brands, or does accuracy and reliability head your motivation to purchase?
One of the first things to look for in any pipette supplier is variety. Varieties of brands and functions, as well as price can certainly make your choices much easier. For example, if all you need is transfer pipettes for urinalysis, then you do not need sterile pipettes, and you would want pipettes that are disposable, and has visible plastic to see the specimen as you draw it up. You would also need a supply that never stops, or is large enough in increments that you would not need to worry about when the next batch arrives.
If you are needing pipetting for making up reagents, then disposable plastic graduated pipettes that can use a vacuum assisted drawing bulb or plunger would be ideal. This should be an option for you, as your costs and lab function helps make the decision. Graduated plastic pipettes are excellent for making up reagents as they are precise and no not change due to temperature variations. Glass is more resilient but breakable if cheaper materials are used. Pyrex is the best glass material for these pipettes, as it also does not flex or expand due to temperature issues.
Can you remember the old-fashioned rubber hose that you aspirated with by mouth? That is frowned upon in most laboratories these days, due to contamination and danger to the laboratory technician doing the aspiration. The rubber bulb, with its different sized holes to accommodate different sizes of pipette is still in use today, but most laboratories going to the digital age have electrical vacuum aspirators that can be set to precision volumes.
Hand pipetters are the next item on the list. Do you have the need for exacting standards in fluid handling in your laboratory? Then you would want a reliable hand pipetter that can give you the exact amount of fluid when needed. An excellent pipetter has certain virtues to look for: A good seal with the pipette tip, ability to aspirate more viscous liquids, and ergonomic comfort. Many hand held pipetters are static in their volumes, but a good variable volume pipetter can be used for different applications.
Variable volume adjustable hand pipetters are very useful in any laboratory where multiple volumes are needed. Just turning the knob to the desired volume gets the job done quickly and accurately. This is excellent for switching to different volumes for adding different substances to the same test tube, such as the reagent and blood used in a Reticulocyte count.
Multichannel adapters and pipettes are used in many areas of genetics, microbiology, and chemical research such as pharmaceuticals. These multi-tipped pipetters are useful for inoculating multiple wells in well plates and for setting up large volumes of test tubes and cuvettes. They can be variable volume adjustable or static volume. They save time by pipetting many dispensings at once. Pipettes have many variations enabling the laboratory personnel to have a good choice for each job.
