Q&A for How to Do Pipette Calibration

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Why is pipette calibration important?

Meredith Juncker, PhD
Scientific Researcher
Meredith Juncker is a scientific researcher based in Brookline, Massachusetts. Currently working as a Senior Patent Technology Specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Meredith is able to leverage her expertise in biochemistry and molecular biology. She received a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, focusing on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. She went on to work as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Meredith Juncker, PhD

Scientific Researcher

Expert Answer

Pipette calibration is important to ensure the accuracy of what you're measuring. Inaccurate measurements could have adverse effects on experimental data.

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Question

How do I calibrate the instrument for use at a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius?

Meredith Juncker, PhD
Scientific Researcher
Meredith Juncker is a scientific researcher based in Brookline, Massachusetts. Currently working as a Senior Patent Technology Specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Meredith is able to leverage her expertise in biochemistry and molecular biology. She received a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, focusing on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. She went on to work as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Meredith Juncker, PhD

Scientific Researcher

Expert Answer

If the distilled water you used was 24 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure, your Z value would be 1.0038 µg/mg. Multiply these two values together (w*Z) to obtain your V value, or volume of water dispersed. This V value you just calculated is your Vavg. Divide Vavg/Vo (the amount you're theoretically pipetting, in this case it would be 1mL) and multiply this number by 100. That will be your accuracy percentage. Any answer between 99-101% is properly calibrated.

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Question

Does this process apply to fast release pipette pumps?

Meredith Juncker, PhD
Scientific Researcher
Meredith Juncker is a scientific researcher based in Brookline, Massachusetts. Currently working as a Senior Patent Technology Specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Meredith is able to leverage her expertise in biochemistry and molecular biology. She received a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, focusing on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. She went on to work as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Meredith Juncker, PhD

Scientific Researcher

Expert Answer

Fast-release pipette pumps are made for pipettes that are calibrated to the tip but retain the final drop. They are usually calibrated professionally by the company that manufactures the pump.

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Question

What is the reference standard for pipette calibration?

Community Answer

The reference standard is ISO8655. This is a verification of your pipette readings, but, if you require a valid certificate, the calibration should be done by an accredited calibration laboratory IEC/ISO 17025.

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What are the factors to be considered for calculating the uncertainty of a pipette?

Community Answer

You're confusing the human concept of uncertainty with the scientific concept. For a pipette, uncertainty isn't expressed in terms of conceptual sources of uncertainty. It's expressed in mathematical terms based on the standard deviation of a set of measurements.

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Question

How do I get the value of Z?

Community Answer

The formula for calculating a z-score is z = (x-μ)/σ, where x is the raw score, μ is the population mean, and σ is the population standard deviation. As the formula shows, the z-score is simply the raw score minus the population mean, divided by the population standard deviation.

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