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Sub-Microliter Piezoelectric Dispensers

The GeSiM microdispensers don’t touch the surface to spot on, which minimizes damage to the surface and maximizes spotting flexibility. The dispensers (also called "pipettes" or "jets") follow the drop-on-demand principle, i.e., a drop is released exactly when the piezo ceramic actuator is triggered. This results in the bending of a silicon diaphragm behind the actuator and this in turn leads to a compression of the liquid inside the “pump chamber” and hence to the ejection of a droplet from the nozzle. After this, the ceramic returns to its initial state and the dispenser is refilled with liquid from the inlet. No valve is involved in this process. Enlarge...

 

The overall volume of the droplets is determined by the dispenser type (mainly by the size of the orifice). One can, however, fine-tune the droplet volume by adjusting piezo parameters (amplitude, pulse width, excitation frequency); increasing amplitude or pulse duration will produce larger droplets. Much higher (in fact, freely defined) volumes can be printed if one uses bursts of many droplets per spot. Or you can use the dispense jet as a continuously operating aspirating “micropump”: the actuator frequency determines the number of droplets per time and hence the volume flow.

Don’t forget to have a look at the accessories as they are important for the operation of the micropipettes.

Standard Microdispensers

Two main types of microdispensers with two different droplet volumes exist, SPIP and PicPIP. Their typical dispensing properties are shown in the following table. Both dispensers can be obtained with a variety of holders.

Parameter
 Typical Value  Unit Dimensions (Click...)
  SPIPPicPIP   Complete Image...
      
Supply Voltage 50...70 Volts
Pulse Width  100 Micro Seconds
Frequency ≤ 1000
 Hertz
Droplet Volume 0.6 - 1.10.06 - 0.25 Nano Liters
Volume Flow
 ≤ 66
  ≤ 12
 Micro Liters/ Minute
Repeatability
(Dosage Volume)
 < 1
 %

 

Ordering Information: (Both SPIP and PicPIP are available with different housings)

Stainless Steel Flange
 Bent Steel Capillary PEEK Capillary
 HPLC Fitting 1/16"
     

SPIP:              A010-001
PicPIP:           A010-200

 A010-002
A010-201
 A010-003
A010-005
 
A010-004
A010-203

Without Image: Micro dosage heads with cylindrical housing and shaftSPIP:   A010-006PicPIP: A010-206

Dispensable Media

The following liquids where successfully dispensed using GeSiM's standard piezoelectric pipettes/dispensers:

  • Acetic anhydride
  • Acetone, and all mixing ratios with water
  • Acetonitrile, and all mixing ratios with water
  • Betaine (N,N,N-trimethylglycine, < 1 M)
  • Chloroform
  • Cyclohexanone
  • Dextrane solutions
  • Detergents (e.g. 2 % Triton X-100 or Tween-20)
  • Dichloromethane/trifluoroacetic acid (98:2)
  • N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), and all mixing ratios with water
  • Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and all mixing ratios with water
  • 1,4-Dioxane, and all mixing ratios with water
  • DNA (oligos or PCR products < 3 mg/ml, 4 kb plasmids < 1 mg/ml)
  • Ethanol, and all mixing ratios with water
  • N-FMOC-Ile (200 mM in DMF)
  • Glycerol (< 50 % in H2O)
  • Iodine (in THF/pyridine/H2O 3:75:20:75)
  • Isopropanol, and all mixing ratios with water
  • MALDI matrix (α-cyano-4-hydrocycinnamic acid in NMP, 3-HPA in 20 % acetonitril)
  • Methanol, and all mixing ratios with water
  • 1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), and all mixing ratios with water
  • 1-Methylimidazole (16 % in THF), and all mixing ratios with water
  • NaCl (< 3 M)
  • PBS (phosphate-buffered saline, standard protein printing buffer)
  • Phosphoramidite (T-CE in acetonitrile)
  • Polyethylene glycol 10000 (PEG, < 5 %)
  • Polymers (P3OT 1 mg/ml in trichloroethylene or Chlorobenzene, PEDOT:PSS 0.14/2.56 %)
  • Proteins (< 1 mg/ml, < 10 mg/ml under certain precautions)
  • SSC (saline sodium citrate, 3x)
  • Tetrahydrofurane (THF), and all mixing ratios with water
  • Tetrazole (in acetonitrile)
  • Toluene
  • Urea (< 7 M, humidification recommended)
  • Water

Please note that this list does not necessarily apply to mixtures of several ingredients. Moreover, difficult to print fluids (i.e., those with a viscosity slightly above the maximum of 5 mPa • s) may be dispensed at the resonance frequency of the pipette, and liquids of high viscosity can be handled by the heatable dispenser.

Please contact us if the medium you want to dispense is not listed here or if you need to have special pipette designs (e.g., multi-channel microdispensers for parallel printing or the printing of broad lines).


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