A Solution for Low Volume Pipetting Applications Requiring High Accuracy of Sample Placement
Abstract
The main engineering challenge for low volume pipetting is the aspiration of liquid from a source and its accurate and precise dispensation in nanolitre volumes. In addition, some applications require highly accurate drop placement in a small area (e.g. for assay miniaturisation in 1536 plates) and/or excellent repeatability (e.g. for drop on drop placement used in assay-ready dilutions or protein crystallography) for both the aspirate and dispense operations.The mosquito® nanolitre pipettor (TTP LabTech) uses precise, stepper motor driven, linear drives in conjunction with optical sensors to achieve positional accuracy better than 0.05 mm in the X, Y and Z axes. This, in conjunction with positive displacement, disposable pipettes which guarantee zero cross-contamination, gives the mosquito® unrivalled accuracy and repeatability for these more complex transfer operations.