Evo fixed tipsUNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, SAM BETTIS
A brief manuscript published in 1924 describes a new type of glass pipette: it is curled into a U-shape for steadier handling, with a small hole in its shaft that allows users to create an air vacuum with their pointer fingers, enabling the delivery of “minute quantities of liquid.” Fast-forward through the decades, and pipettes unfurl. Plungers replace rubber bulbs. The 1960s herald the arrival of pipettes that control the volume of each droplet by displacing a pocket of air. Droplet manipulation becomes ever easier as pipettes evolve. Finally, dispensing liquid becomes so mindless that watching grass grow may be more entertaining than manually adding buffer to the 96 wells in a plate. Proof of simplicity: robots can do it.
However, the price and maintenance ...
