Poster: Pipette Cleaning - Your Pipette and Samples Are Precious
Pipettes are precision instruments for dispensing of reagents and sample material in controlled laboratory settings. The precision of these devices can be affected by many factors, including improper cleaning and maintenance. Not only can the pipette itself be damaged but using an unclean pipette can compromise the integrity of your samples and lessen reproducibility.
Commonly Asked Questions
- How do you clean a pipette after use? - When cleaning the outer surface, wipe down the unit using a mild detergent or disinfectant liquid and a soft, lint-free cloth. Lower portions should be disassembled, and the individual parts cleaned separately. Cleaning reagents and methods will depend on type of pipette being cleaned as well as the reagents used in experiments.
- How often should a pipette be cleaned? - The outer surface of the pipette should be cleaned daily and the lower portion at least every three months.
- How should I maintain the lower parts of multichannel pipettes? - Multichannel pipettes should be cleaned and maintained only by trained service personnel. Multichannel pipettes’ lower parts are complex: the parts and springs are difficult to reassemble without proper training. We do not recommend you to clean multichannel pipettes lower parts on your own.
Clean and maintained equipment will keep your laboratory at the forefront of safety and accuracy. Download this informative poster on pipette cleaning as a quick maintenance guide to display in your workspace. An in-depth guide to pipette cleaning, decontamination and sterilization can be accessed here.