page_title: Pipette
section_title: Microfluidic pipette
hierarchical_section_title: Pipette / Specialized pipettes / Microfluidic pipette
caption_attribution_description: English: A Multifunctional pipette assembled in a manifold holder. The colored solutions highlight the sample wells in the pipette.
context_page_description: A pipette is a laboratory tool commonly used in chemistry, biology and medicine to transport a measured volume of liquid, often as a media dispenser. Pipettes come in several designs for various purposes with differing levels of accuracy and precision, from single piece glass pipettes to more complex adjustable or electronic pipettes. Many pipette types work by creating a partial vacuum above the liquid-holding chamber and selectively releasing this vacuum to draw up and dispense liquid. Measurement accuracy varies greatly depending on the style.
context_section_description: A recent introduction into the micropipette field integrates the versatility of microfluidics into a freely positionable pipette platform. At the tip of the device a localized flow zone is created, allowing for constant control of the nanoliter environment, directly in front of the pipette. The pipettes are made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) which is formed using reactive injection molding. Interfacing of these pipettes using pneumatics enables multiple solutions to be loaded and switched on demand, with solution exchanged times of 100ms.
  
  Invented by Alar Ainla, currently situated in the Biophysical Technology Lab at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
caption: A Microfluidic pipette, housed in a manifold holder. The colored solutions highlight the solutions loaded into the wells of the PDMS pipette. Pneumatic actuation is used to keep all tubing free of contamination.
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