Pipette -  The Primary Laboratory Measurement Tool

Typical force and repetition rates in manual pipetting rates in manual pipetting add up to 5,000-10,000 lbs/day, enough to push over an elephant.

What Does the Symphony Have to Do with Pipetting? 

Proper pipette repair service must include established, model-specific components, maintenance and repair processes in order to ensure valid compliance to tolerances, as well as maintaining measurement performance between service intervals. With our team of trained technicians and former biology scientists, we have over 50 years of pipette expertise and metrology experience contributing to the proper servicing of your pipettes. At TTE Laboratories, we routinely provide comprehensiv preventative maintenance on every pipette we receive and are capable of correctly repairing 99 percent of pipettes that are received broken, malfunctioning or are merely performing out of tolerance, without delay.

In order for a calibration lab to achieve ISO 17025 certification, an accrediting body (AB) must ensure both the competency and the quality of a calibration lab’s measurement capability and management system. In other words, the ISO 17025 standard validates that a lab does what it says, says what it does, and documents all processes.  Is that sufficient?

If you’re reading this article about brushing up on the basics of pipette calibration, it’s clear that you recognize the importance of keeping yourself sharp in the calibration lab. In this post, we have outlined what you need to know about the basics of proper calibration, from maintaining your equipment to proper preparation to the importance of metrology-driven calibration.

At TTE Laboratories, we pride ourselves on offering an ISO-accredited, audit-ready pipette calibration program that allows our clients to maximize their pipette performance and improve their scientific development. In this post, we’ll offer readers an insider’s look at our state-of-the-art facility by providing comprehensive material and photos from our lab. So please join us as we take you through a visually engaging tour of our pipette calibration best practices and ultimately showcase the TTE difference.

As lab technicians, we can’t deny that mistakes happen—human error, broken machinery, environmental conditions, fatigue and the list goes on. At TTE, we make it a priority to help scientists avoid pipetting errors and reduce their risk of pipette mistakes as a preventative measure. Our belief is to address all contributors and minimize pipetting errors from a broad approach, of standardized pipette calibration or pipette repair services, pipette training of best practices and incorporating the use of high quality, comfortable pipette equipment. The following is our top 10 list of routine steps technicians can take to prevent pipetting errors from taking over. Give some consideration to these steps the next time you’re pipetting:

Within pipette calibration there are five widely used grades of pipettes, all of which have specific guidelines and requirements regarding use, testing, maintenance, and measurement. The five grades of pipettes include disposable/transfer, graduated/serological, single channel, multichannel, and repeat pipette. From the most basic transfer pipette dropper to the advanced repeat dispensing pipettor, the manner in which the equipment is handled will impact the accuracy of the test results.