NEWS RELEASE
The ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition Highlights Environmental Conditions
as Sources of Laboratory Error
as Sources of Laboratory Error
Barometric Pressure Found to Reduce Pipetted Volumes and Affect Data Integrity
Chicago, IL (February 26, 2007) – To demonstrate the impact of environmental conditions on pipetted volumes,
ARTEL launches the Extreme Pipetting Expedition. During this multi-phase,
year-long scientific study, ARTEL will visit locations with extreme ranges of
common laboratory conditions, such as temperature, barometric pressure and
humidity. Pipette performance will be measured at each location using the ARTEL
PCS® (Pipette Calibration System) to identify the resulting volume variability.
ARTEL releases the first set of data collected at Mount Washington, the highest
peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. At this altitude (6,288 feet) and
lower barometric pressure, the pipettes were found to under-deliver by up to 10
percent. The data highlight the importance of verifying and calibrating
pipettes in actual environmental conditions for optimal laboratory liquid
handling operations and accurate data.
ARTEL will launch the Extreme Pipetting Expedition and release the preliminary
Mount Washington data at Pittcon 2007, February 26-March 2, 2007 in Chicago,
IL, Booth #3516. Laboratory managers and technicians can log onto
www.artel-usa.com/extreme to view the data and to suggest locations and
environmental conditions to be explored in the next phase of the study.
“Advancements in liquid handling technology are allowing laboratories to conduct
tests and experiments with smaller liquid volumes. However, smaller volumes are
more sensitive to volume variation and inaccuracy of just one microliter can
significantly alter results,” says Kirby Pilcher, President, ARTEL. “The objective of ARTEL’s Extreme Pipetting Expedition is to increase awareness of how environmental
conditions affect pipetted volume so that laboratories can eliminate a
potential source of error and strengthen quality assurance. By testing pipette
performance under extreme conditions, we can help pipette users more fully
understand how their instruments will perform in a variety of laboratory
environments.”
To kick off the expedition, ARTEL trekked to the Mount Washington Weather
Observatory situated at an altitude of 6,288 feet. The facility’s barometric pressure measured 805 millibars, well below the sea-level average
of 1,013 millibars. Data collected by ARTEL show that at this altitude, air
displacement pipettes (the type most commonly used) under-delivered by 1 to 10
percent, depending on the pipette’s make, model and target volume. This volume variation is explained by air’s lower density at higher altitudes. Today’s laboratories largely rely on air displacement pipettes or liquid handlers to
transfer liquid volumes. If air is less dense, less liquid is pulled into the
pipette tip and subsequently dispensed, resulting in under-delivery and
possible test failure.
ARTEL’s data show that the magnitude of volume variation for each pipette was
relatively constant, which facilitates correction within the laboratory. For
example, a pipette tested at 10 microliters under-delivered by 2.6 percent and
2.8 percent in replicate tests. Laboratories can compensate for this repeatable
volume variation by adjusting the internal mechanism of the pipette for the
specific environmental conditions or by adjusting the delivery setting. In this
case, because the pipette under-delivered by an average of 2.7 percent, setting
the pipette to deliver 10.27 microliters would deliver an actual volume of 10
microliters.
“The preliminary data show the importance of regularly verifying pipettes in the
environment in which they are used,” says George Rodrigues, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Manager. “Consider a laboratory in Denver or Mexico City that sends pipettes to a
laboratory at sea-level for calibration. Even newly calibrated, the pipettes
would likely under-deliver once back in the laboratory and produce inaccurate
data.”
The ARTEL PCS was used to measure the performance of three different pipettes in
the extreme conditions of Mount Washington. The same pipettes were verified
using the PCS in ARTEL’s ISO-certified test laboratory under normal, controlled conditions at
sea-level. To isolate barometric pressure as the source of volume variability,
ARTEL controlled for other sources of error, including operator technique,
temperature, humidity, the measuring method and pipette failure. A robust,
portable system, PCS is unaffected by environmental conditions. The PCS also
provides standardized, traceable results for a scientifically sound comparison
of data regardless of the environment in which data are taken or pipettes are
used.
For complete experiment parameters and a summary of test data, visit
www.artel-usa.com/extreme. This website will be updated regularly with data
from new Extreme Pipetting locations, new insights into the effects of
environmental conditions on pipettes and stories from ARTEL scientists in the
field.
# # #
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.
