What You Should Know About Pipette Tips

Pipette tips are classified into three types: non-sterile, pre-sterilized, and filtered.
Non-sterile pipette tips are the most commonly used type of pipette tip. They are frequently used in laboratory applications where sterility is not critical to the experiment or test. Pre-sterilized pipette tips, on the other hand, are intended to prevent contamination. They are guaranteed to be free of DNA, RNase, ATP, and pyrogens. These pipette tips are ideal for sterile applications such as cell cultures because they are certified free of DNA, RNase, ATP, and pyrogens.

Filtered pipette tips are intended to prevent the formation of aerosols. Aerosols are small liquid or solid particles that float in the air. These particles can actually linger in the air for long periods of time and be inhaled. Worse, aerosols cause 65% of all laboratory infections, usually by inhaling them. Filtered pipette tips reduce the possibility of aerosol formation in the laboratory. They also keep pipette shafts clean and reduce the possibility of cross contamination. Pipette tips like these are frequently used in contamination-sensitive applications like forensics and clinical diagnostics.
With the possibility of infection from aerosols, we cannot overstate the importance of enforcing safe work practices in the laboratory. This includes cleaning pipettes after use and properly disposing of pipette tips.