Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
I bought a pack of 10 of these a month ago and got stingy and just reused them over and over, dipping into the same tank to draw out protist samples. Is there a downside to this? I just ordered 50 more as they are very cheap but I don't want to throw them away after each use unless there is a valid reason.
- Crater Eddie
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Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
I reuse mine many times. Sometimes I'll bleach them out, but only when I worry about cross contamination between sample jars, which is not very often.
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LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
It depends very much on what you do.
If you are a professional scientist and write in an article that there are fossile marine diatoms and radiolaria in the fresh water ponds around your house, your reputation might suffer somewhat.
As an amateur you just enjoy what you find and always keep in mind how many corners you cut in your process and how dependable your results are.
If you make a sensational find one day and your process was amateurish, you will not be sure whether your find was real.
I probably would overlook all available sensational finds because I don't have the backgroud knowledge to recognise them. So I don't have to work to scientific precision. But even I had the experience that I found certain rare diatoms in samples where I wouldn't have expected them, but where they could be. I will never know whether they are really from this sample or whether I "enriched" the sample.
One possible way to cope with this is to have a rubbish-box and a "to be cleaned properly"-box. The ingredients from the latter can be cleaned when the box is full and go back into use.
If you are a professional scientist and write in an article that there are fossile marine diatoms and radiolaria in the fresh water ponds around your house, your reputation might suffer somewhat.
As an amateur you just enjoy what you find and always keep in mind how many corners you cut in your process and how dependable your results are.
If you make a sensational find one day and your process was amateurish, you will not be sure whether your find was real.
I probably would overlook all available sensational finds because I don't have the backgroud knowledge to recognise them. So I don't have to work to scientific precision. But even I had the experience that I found certain rare diatoms in samples where I wouldn't have expected them, but where they could be. I will never know whether they are really from this sample or whether I "enriched" the sample.
One possible way to cope with this is to have a rubbish-box and a "to be cleaned properly"-box. The ingredients from the latter can be cleaned when the box is full and go back into use.
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
Yes, I already have a container for slides and cover slips. I'm not too concerned though, it was a beginners dumb question.MicroBob wrote: One possible way to cope with this is to have a rubbish-box and a "to be cleaned properly"-box.
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
Same here - I use them a lot, and always re-use them. I also as you suggest have a 'to clean' tray, I call it my 'washing-up tray'.coominya wrote:Yes, I already have a container for slides and cover slips. I'm not too concerned though, it was a beginners dumb question.MicroBob wrote: One possible way to cope with this is to have a rubbish-box and a "to be cleaned properly"-box.
John B.
John B
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
One question that may be of more importance is what do you wash up with and is there a rinsing regime you follow? I was using dish detergent but I suspect I was leaving traces on slides because of a lack of water tension causing my droplet samples to spread out across the slide. I know you do botanical work so this mightn't be an issue for you but with protists it might as the cover-slip tends to settle a lot closer to the slide with less water tension.mrsonchus wrote: Same here - I use them a lot, and always re-use them. I also as you suggest have a 'to clean' tray, I call it my 'washing-up tray'.
John B.
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
I usually wash them with as you mention washing-up (dish) liquid then tap-water rinse then DI water, finally heated fan-air-dried in my slide drying cabinet.coominya wrote: One question that may be of more importance is what do you wash up with and is there a rinsing regime you follow? I was using dish detergent but I suspect I was leaving traces on slides because of a lack of water tension causing my droplet samples to spread out across the slide. I know you do botanical work so this mightn't be an issue for you but with protists it might as the cover-slip tends to settle a lot closer to the slide with less water tension.
I have about a dozen long glass pipettes which I use mainly for alcohol or histoclear - I colour-code the bulbs with a band of permanent marker pen. These I also dry in the same way. I use glass shortie pipettes from dropper bottles for small applications of stains etc - the I keep dedicated and occasionally wash with either acid or alkali depending upon which stain they've been in.
As you say though, using minute quantities with your living samples is a completely different case; I can see why surface-tension will be a major factor with this application.
John B.
John B
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
We might swap - this is what I usually want but not allway acheive when I make diatom slides!coominya wrote: causing my droplet samples to spread out across the slide.
I think there is more to glass than what we see. It makes a difference for example, when I move a cover slip through an alcohl flame. Fluids spread better afterwards.
So far I haven't found a really quick and effective process for cleaning of slides. Since I don't like to throw things away I will continue to llok for one.
Re: Polyethylene Pipettes (Single use?)
I toss mine in a petri dish full of tap water, then every 4 days or so clean them with hand soap under a tap and dry with paper towel. A micro-dishwasher would be great but I don't generate enough to warrant such. One thing I don't have is a dust free storage for them but I just bought this and will array them in it.MicroBob wrote:coominya wrote:
So far I haven't found a really quick and effective process for cleaning of slides. Since I don't like to throw things away I will continue to look for one.
https://tinyurl.com/ydbnrj7v