Pipette Tip Bladder for Liquid Transfer Contamination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Presently available pipette tips introduce contaminants into samples due to cross-contamination and generate significant waste, as they are designed for single use and lack efficient liquid transfer mechanisms, which affects culture efficiency and storage requirements in cell culture applications.
Innovation Solution
A pipette tip with a bladder sealingly attached to its body, allowing for the manipulation of liquid volumes through pressure changes, separating the liquid from the pipette and minimizing contact, thereby reducing contamination and enabling reusable or disposable designs that reduce waste and storage needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional open pipette tips are used for liquid transfer, then liquid transfer function is achieved, but cross-contamination occurs between samples
Solution Approach 1:
The pipette tip is divided into separate functional components: a reusable outer body and a disposable inner liner that contacts the liquid. This segmentation allows the liquid-contacting portion to be discarded after single use, preventing cross-contamination while maintaining the functionality of the expensive outer body
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a disposable inner liner that is discarded after a single use. This cheap, short-living component prevents cross-contamination by ensuring that the liquid-contacting surface is always fresh and never reused, directly addressing the contamination problem
2Reliability
If single-use pipette tips are used to prevent contamination, then sample purity is maintained, but large volume of waste is generated
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the pipette tip into reusable outer body and disposable inner liner, only the minimal necessary portion (the liner) is discarded. This reduces waste compared to discarding entire pipette tips, while still maintaining sample purity through the disposable liner
Solution Approach 2:
The reusable outer body is recovered and reused multiple times, while only the disposable inner liner is discarded. This selective discarding approach minimizes waste generation while maintaining the contamination prevention benefits of disposable tips
3Reliability
If single-use pipette tips are used for each sample, then cross-contamination is prevented, but storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented design allows multiple disposable liners to be stored compactly within or alongside a single reusable outer body, reducing the total storage space required compared to storing complete disposable pipette tips
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple disposable inner liners can be nested or stacked within the structure of reusable outer bodies, creating a compact storage arrangement that reduces the footprint of stored pipette tips while maintaining the ability to prevent cross-contamination
4Device complexity
If traditional pipette tips are used without internal sealing, then device simplicity is maintained, but liquid transfer precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable inner liner acts as a flexible membrane that can be manipulated to create precise liquid transfer. The thin film structure allows for controlled expansion and contraction to achieve accurate dispensing while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively minimizes cross-contamination and waste by using a bladder to manage liquid transfer within the pipette tip, enhancing culture efficiency and reducing storage requirements through improved liquid handling and containment.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure may be applied to the bladder to manipulate the bladder
Implementation Method 2
The negative pressure creates a vacuum that is applied to the bladder
Implementation Method 3
a bladder sealingly attached to the body... separating the liquid from the pipette and minimizing contact
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the invention relate to liquid transfer systems including a pipette tip having a body defining an inner volume and having first and second ends, the first end arranged to transfer a volume of liquid into and out of the pipette tip and the second end arranged for attachment to a pipette, and a bladder sealingly attached to the body. In some embodiments, the bladder is disposable in the inner volume. The bladder may be defined by a membranous sac and/or a planar membrane. The bladder may be moveable in response to an applied pressure to transfer liquid. The bladder also may be stretchable to accommodate a volume of fluid. In some embodiments, the pipette tip is used in a cell culture incubator, with a manipulator including a pipette that is in fluid communication with the pipette tip.