Pipettes

Pipettes are laboratory tools used in chemistry, biology and medicine to transport measured volumes of liquid. Many work by creating a partial vacuum over the liquid-holding chamber and releasing this vacuum to draw up the liquid. They are usually made of borosilicate glass or plastic. There are many types of pipettes. The first type is air-displacement micro pipettes which can hold liquids up to 1ml. They are operated by piston-driven air displacement and are extremely accurate subject to the user's ability. They are supplied with disposable tips of different colours which come into contact with the fluids. They can be adjusted/fixed, volume handled, single/multi-channel or with conical or cylindrical tips. Volumetric pipettes consist of a large bulb with a long narrow body and single graduation mark. Pasteur pipettes, also known as eye droppers, as used to transfer small amounts of liquid; transfer pipettes are similar but made of a single piece of plastic. Other types include pipetting syringes, graduated pipettes and Ostwald-Folin. Pipette robots are capable of dispensing liquids simultaneously. Pipettes are widely used in any laboratory. Volumetric pipettes are mainly used for laboratory solutions for base stock and preparing solutions for titration. Positive displacement types are suitable for volatile or viscous substances.

  • Lab Unlimited UK