Pipette Polishing
Pipette Polishing - Related Videos
05:12
Pressure-polishing Pipettes for Improved Patch-clamp Recording
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Cited by 13 •
2008
This is a guide to modifying the shape of glass micropipettes. Specifically, by using heat and air pressure the taper is widened without increasing the tip opening, leading to lower pipette resistance. This is critical to obtain low noise recordings of small cells but is useful in many applications.
05:30
Making Patch-pipettes and Sharp Electrodes with a Programmable Puller
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Cited by 22 •
2008
This video shows how to use a programmable puller to make patch pipettes and sharp electrodes for electrophysiology. The same procedure can be used to make a variety of glass tools, including injection needles.
06:35
Introduction to Serological Pipettes and Pipettors
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2023
The serological pipette is frequently used in the laboratory for transferring milliliter volumes of liquid, from less than 1 ml to up to 50 ml. The pipettes can be sterile, plastic, and disposable or sterilizable, glass and reusable. Both kinds of pipettes use a pipet-aid, for the aspiration and dispensation of liquids. Different sizes of pipettes can be used with the same pipet-aid for a variety of experimental assays. For example, serological pipettes are useful for mixing chemical solutions...
09:44
Imaging Glioma Initiation In Vivo Through a Polished and Reinforced Thin-skull Cranial Window
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Cited by 12 •
2012
By combining a polished and reinforced thin-skull (PoRTS) cranial window and glioblastoma (GBM) cell injection, we can observe glioma initiation and growth from injected GBM cells in the brain of a live mouse longitudinally.
13:07
Convergent Polishing: A Simple, Rapid, Full Aperture Polishing Process of High Quality Optical Flats & Spheres
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Cited by 11 •
2014
A novel optical polishing process, called “Convergent Polishing”, which enables faster, lower cost polishing, is described. Unlike conventional polishing processes, Convergent Polishing allows a glass workpiece to be polished in a single iteration and with high surface quality to its final surface figure without requiring changes to polishing parameters.
FAQs
Controlled heating softens the glass at the pipette tip rather than removing material mechanically. Once softened, surface tension pulls the glass toward a more rounded configuration, covering rough edges and microscopic irregularities. This interaction between heat, softened glass, and surface tension allows the tip surface to become more uniform while preserving the intended opening as closely as possible.
The opening determines how the pipette interacts with fluids, cells, tissues, and electrical measurements. Excessive reshaping during heating could alter that intended geometry and change performance, even if the surface appears smoother. Effective polishing therefore balances two goals: reducing irregularities that interfere with contact or handling while avoiding substantial changes to the opening required for the experiment.
Rough or uneven glass can increase the likelihood of mechanical damage when a pipette contacts cells or tissues. It may also make fluid delivery or aspiration less consistent and reduce the reproducibility of microscale contact. Smoothing the tip addresses these physical sources of variability, helping researchers obtain more controlled interactions during manipulation and measurement.
A basic workflow begins with a formed glass pipette whose tip has the desired approximate opening. The tip is then exposed to controlled heat so the glass softens locally, allowing surface tension to round the edge and reduce microscopic irregularities. The process is stopped once the surface is sufficiently smooth, with attention to maintaining the intended opening.
Patch-clamp recording requires precise contact between a pipette and a cell so electrical measurements can be obtained at the microscale. A smoother tip can reduce unwanted mechanical damage during contact and promote more consistent interaction with the cell surface. Preserving the intended opening also supports the pipette geometry needed for reliable fluid and electrical measurement behavior.
Microinjection and embryo manipulation require controlled delivery, aspiration, or physical contact with delicate biological material. Reducing roughness at the tip can limit mechanical injury while making fluid handling more consistent. These advantages are relevant when the pipette must approach, contact, or penetrate cells and embryos with precision, where small variations in the glass surface may affect the outcome.