NEWS RELEASE
The ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition Visits Yellowstone to
Test Effect of Liquid Temperatures on Data Integrity
Results to be Announced at 2007 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo
Westbrook, ME (May 29, 2007) – ARTEL announces that Yellowstone National Park has been selected as the
location for Mission #2 of its Extreme Pipetting Expedition. At Yellowstone,
ARTEL will test how pipetting liquids at a temperature different than the
pipette (thermal disequilibrium) affects delivered volume and data accuracy and
precision. While today’s laboratories are usually temperature-controlled, it is very common to handle
liquids that are extremely hot or cold. For example, restriction enzymes used
in nucleic acid work are frequently handled at ice temperature (0°C), and higher temperatures are encountered with handling mammalian cell
cultures (37°C) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) solutions (60°C or higher).
Because pipettes deliver different volumes when fluids are at different
temperatures, laboratories need to account for the resulting volume variation. To draw attention to the importance of considering temperature disequilibrium in
clinical testing, and help laboratories develop strategies to overcome this
effect, ARTEL will release the results from Mission #2 at the 2007 AACC Annual
Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, San Diego, CA, July 15-19, Booth #438. At AACC, ARTEL will also hold the Pipetting Olympics to reward laboratorians for
superior pipetting skills, a major factor in data accuracy and precision. The
competition will, for the first time, include multichannel pipetting
competitions.
Yellowstone was selected as the site for Mission #2 because it is emblematic of
thermal variation. The active geothermal features at Yellowstone include hundreds of geysers, steam
vents and hot springs, all set in an alpine environment where air temperatures
of -45 ° F have been recorded. Water and steam temperatures in Yellowstone range from below freezing to nearly
140°C (280 °F). In addition to the well-known Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone is also the
natural home of Thermus aquaticus (the source of Taq DNA Polymerase), which was
first isolated from the park’s Fountain Geyser region. The Extreme Pipetting Expedition is a multi-phase,
year-long scientific study to illustrate the impact of laboratory conditions on
data integrity.
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ARTEL is the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance. Based on its
proprietary Ratiometric Photometry technology, ARTEL manufactures the most
accurate, precise, and easy-to-use systems available for ensuring data
integrity in liquid volume measurement. ARTEL systems utilize an ISO-conforming
method (ISO 8655-7) to provide NIST-traceable results. In addition, ARTEL
provides liquid handling quality assurance support and consultation services
including on site pipetting technique training and certifications for pipette
users and laboratory managers, as well as Liquid Handler Performance
Verification services for automated laboratories. Since 1982, ARTEL technology
has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories including
pharmaceutical, clinical, forensics, public health and drug discovery. Leading
institutions such as Amgen, ARUP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Center for
Disease Control, DuPont, Eli Lilly, Genomic Health, IDT Technologies, Mayo
Clinic, Merck, Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center and U.S. FDA depend on ARTEL
technology to help them meet their objectives for quality and productivity.
