A pepittor is usually abbreviated and referred to as a pipette. It is a chemical tube used to measure, hold and drop a precise amount of liquid in the labs. Since it’s used in labs, the tube is mostly used to transfer and drop chemicals. In early days, the pipette was a dangerous tool to deal with as air suction using the mouth had to be done in order to extract liquid from the source. However, due to the fact that chemicals were involved, it was turning out injurious and sometimes even fatal to humans. In later years, the pipette came equipped with a suction tube located on top of it, that when pressed, creates a vacuum, which helps suck up the liquid from the source.
Dealing with chemicals always has to be done with care. This is especially the case when chemicals have to be transferred from one place or bottle to another. Sometimes, in experiments, certain chemicals have to be mixed together as well and that too in precise quantities. This can only be achieved successfully with pipettor. Also these tubes care prepares using glass or quartz, which are unreactive and so, when transferring, the liquids can stay pure and not react with the surface of the tubes.
These chemical tubes come in many forms and varieties. Since their popularity has grown over the years, the production business has boomed to quite an extent. Many different companies have emerged which produce many varieties of the pipettes. One type that is very widely available is the micro kind. This kind is very minute and can measure very small amounts of liquids from the sources. Their accuracy is extremely high and is mostly used in micro injection experiments. Another variety that is widely available is the volumetric kind that is used just like a volumetric flask. They come in very different sizes, with the most popular ones being, 25-50 ml ones. These tubes are used in titration experiments, where the reactivity of acids and alkalis are done and everything is measured. The graduated variety is used in similar ways to a graduated cylinder. However, this is not very commonly used because the accuracy that it offers is very low compared to the previous two mentioned.
More than the structural accuracy offered by the tube itself, the training and experience of the user also determines the actual precision with which the liquid is extracted in it. A chemist who lacks relevant experience will most definitely make errors and with more practice that error can be removed. The accuracy also depends on how well the pipette is calibrated. The calibration process needs to be done very carefully so the markings are accurate and also checked whether the draining of the liquid is done effectively and as required or not.
This lab instrument also comes with many supporting accessories. One of them is fillers which are pressed in order to in the liquid. This helps remove the need for the use of mouth in order to extract the chemical. Other are dispensers that are used with batteries are designed to be very portable. These kinds do not need to be calibrated. Tips are also available and can be bought when needed. Pipettor usually comes in the box with the lab instrument in question. All in all, these lab tools are also adjustable, electronic and standard or locking varieties. The purpose of this article was to inform the reader and create awareness of various uses of pipettor, hopefully the article well served its purpose and provided a source of guidance.