The micropipette tips manufacturing is a specialist field!
Millions of small conical plastic consumables are manufactured every year and even more in the last 3 years.
Behind this consumable commonly used in all laboratories are manufacturers who have had to adapt to the growth of the market in record time.
Here is an interview with AHN Biotechnologie GmbH, a European partner and an integral part of the LABELIANS partners system, which provided a support to the lab in the peak of the pandemic to ensure the laboratory’s operational continuity.
LABELIANS would like to know more about the manufacture of micropipette tips: “Can you describe the main steps in the manufacture of a tip and every quality control carried out at each of these steps?
AHN Biotechnologie GmbH “We use injection moulding procedures to manufacture the tips. The material is made from plastic granules.
The material used for the tips is polypropylene (PP), which is stored in our warehouse for quicker response.
The injection moulding machines melt the plastic granules and inject the fluid material into a mould.
The first quality inspections are carried out after this process has started. In the case of “pipette tips”, we have several points to check:
- Transparency
- Format
- The absence of burrs on the inlet and outlet opening
This manufacturing process for micropipette tips is stable and controlled, especially since these different control points are checked several times during production.
When the semi-finished products are produced, the second manufacturing step can begin. In this case, we have two identified processes:
The tips can be packed in a bagging machine, then packed and shipped to our customers.
The second process is packaging in racks or refills. For this, the tips are placed in racks or refill racks by robots. Each box containing tips is checked by employees.
The last step of the manufacturing process includes the packaging of the boxes (box, lid, rack, tip).”
LABELIANS “The manufacture of micropipette tips starts with a common plastic material but how do you choose your raw material?”
AHN Biotechnologie GmbH “We select our raw materials according to the requirements of the different products.
For some of our products, we follow our customers’ specifications and are in close contact with them.
We source high quality material that meets our strict requirements, i.e. virgin medical grade polypropylene with the following characteristics
- non-cytotoxic
- biologically inert
- highly transparent
- free of bioactive additives
- free of softening agents such as biocides
- free of slippery and antistatic agents
This material allows us to manufacture products free of DNase, RNase, human DNA, pyrogen and PCR inhibitor.
LABELIANS “How long does it take to make 1 million tips, for example?”
AHN Biotechnologie GmbH “The production time depends on the product and the tools. For example, for 200µl tips, it takes about two and a half days.”
LABELIANS “What quality controls are carried out on the tips before they are sent to the customer?”
AHN Biotechnologie GmbH “All tips we manufacture are free of DNase, RNase, human DNA, pyrogen and PCR inhibitor.
In terms of physical testing, we check their clarity, shape, burr on the inlet and outlet opening are quality control points in production.
The tools used for the control are optical measuring methods.
When manufacturing the micropipette tips, the above points are checked, so it is a 2nd check.”
These few grams of plastic are in fact a technological product that is subject to many controls to ensure that there is no chemical or physical release that could lead to analytical error.
Moreover, each model is submitted to a scientific and industrial development to allow a perfect compatibility with the different micropipettes brands which also evolve over time.
It is therefore important to anticipate your needs in order to have a micropipette – tip combination with optimal performance!
On #laviedulabo, you will find an article about good pipetting practices to be followed when we have the right equipment associated with the right consumable.
Contact LABELIANS to discover the range of AHN Biotechnologie GmbH products distributed exclusively by LABELIANS and one of our major partners whose values are part of the LABELIANS partners environment.
