Pipette Tip Tray Enclosures for Cross-Contamination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated pipetting systems generate significant waste due to the disposal of used pipette tips after each use, complicating the handling of mixed reagents and increasing cross-contamination risks.
Innovation Solution
A pipette tip holder with a tray and array of openings, where used tips are isolated in enclosures and disposed into a container, allowing liquid discharge into the container through an open opening, preventing cross-contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If used pipette tips are disposed in containers with waste liquids from each testing step, then waste management is simplified, but cross-contamination risks increase and handling becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is divided into multiple compartments, each designed to receive and isolate used pipette tips from different testing steps. This segmentation prevents mixing of different waste liquids while maintaining organized disposal, thereby reducing cross-contamination risk without complicating waste management procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The tray acts as an intermediary container between the pipetting robot and the final waste disposal system. It provides a controlled environment where tips are temporarily held and isolated before disposal, mediating between the need for simple waste management and the requirement to prevent cross-contamination
2Object-affected harmful factors
If new pipette tips are selected for each liquid transfer to avoid cross-contamination, then contamination risk is reduced, but consumable usage and waste generation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables selective disposal of used tips in the tray while preserving unused tips in their original packaging. The tray design allows the robot to access and discard only the specific used tip needed, while other tips remain available for reuse, thereby reducing overall waste generation while maintaining cross-contamination prevention
3Object-affected harmful factors
If used pipette tips are disposed immediately after each use, then cross-contamination is minimized, but disposal frequency and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is pre-configured with multiple compartments before the testing process begins. This preliminary arrangement allows the robot to dispose of used tips in an organized manner throughout the testing sequence, minimizing cross-contamination risks without requiring complex real-time disposal decisions or system reconfigurations
Data Source
AI summary
A pipette tip holder includes a tray including an array of openings to receive pipette tips. A plurality of the openings provide access to interiors of a plurality of enclosures. At least one opening of the array of openings of the array is free of an enclosure. The pipette tip holder further includes a container. The tray is secured over a mouth of the container. The at least one opening of the array of openings provides access through the tray to the interior of the container.