Dr Antonio Romaguera looks at the advantages of electronic pipettes.
When pipetting with piston-stroke pipettes, operation with a minimum of manual effort is of primary importance because these devices are used very intensively.
Ergonomics and the ease of operation of the instrument are especially important when the pipettes are used in long, serial operations in the same work position. These considerations were the central focus in the development of the Transferpette electronic pipettes. The objective was accomplished: the Transferpette electronic from Brand is the first pipette worldwide to be recognised with the ergonomics certificate from the TÜV Rheinland/Berlin-Brandenburg.
What factors contributed to a design that earned the Transferpette electronic this special recognition for ergonomic design and ease of operation?
To optimise a pipette grip for comfort, different hand sizes and finger lengths must be considered. A finger rest that is easy to adjust, in combination with an ergonomic shape allow the Transferpette electronic to adjust to the hand, rather than forcing the hand to adapt to the instrument. This makes the comfortable and natural positioning of the thumb possible with respect to the operating elements of the pipette. This advantage is equally available to right- or left-handed users.
While operating the pipette, the thumb remains in a natural position: slightly to the side and relaxed. All control elements can be conveniently operated with one hand and without the strenuous overextension of the thumb that is so common in mechanical pipette operation.
Ergonomics were also considered through the selection of the housing material, and the optimal distribution of weight. Thus shape, balance, operating position and adjustability contributed to the fundamental ergonomics of the pipette even before design efforts were undertaken to reduce operating forces.
The total operating forces for pipetting include tip attachment forces, the forces needed for aspirating and dispensing, the tip-blow out forces, and the tip ejection forces. It is immediately apparent that, compared to mechanical pipettes, the force required to operate the pipetting key for aspirating, dispensing and blow out are negligible for the Transferpette electronic. A light tap on the pipetting key is all that is needed.
The tip-ejection forces can make up significantly more than 50 per cent of the total operating forces, depending on the pipette tested. Because of this, particular attention was given during the development of the Transferpette electronic to the reduction of the operating forces for the ejection of the tip. This objective was achieved with an innovative two-component pipette tip cone, for which a patent application has been submitted. The two components consist of a resilient outer surface and a rigid supporting core. The flexible area, which is firmly co-moulded with the solid core of the tip cone, reduces the attachment and ejection forces vary significantly when compared with traditional pipette tip mounting.
The Technical Control Board Rheinland/
Berlin-Brandenburg (the TüV) conducted independent usability tests that examined various aspects of the pipette design and operation for their practical benefit to representative users.
The results of these user tests confirmed the efficient handling characteristics of the Transferpette electronic. The total user acceptance rating must be better than 2.0 to be approved by the TÜV.
Dr Antonio Romaguera is Product Manager Life Science, Brand GmbH + Co KG, Wertheim, Germany. www.brand.de
