Cordless pipetters are a common tool in many laboratories. A number of pipettes are available on the market today, but few boast as many features as the CellMate® II Serological Pipette by Matrix Technologies.
The CellMate® II is configured in a similar manner to other pipettes, in an ergonomic L-shape designed to fit the hand, with a nose cone to attach various sizes of pipettes and separate buttons to aspirate and dispense liquids. The CellMate® II fits standard glass or disposable pipettes from 5 to 100 ml and includes a stabilizer that can be attached to the nose cone when using 1 ml pipettes. Features of the pipette include a handy back-lit LCD screen which displays the speed of aspiration and dispensation, both of which are controlled by separate buttons on the back of the unit. The screen also shows remaining battery life which is extremely useful as it eliminates down-time due to pipette slowing or stopping mid-experiment. The pipette comes with a lithium-ion battery with a lifetime guarantee, which Matrix reports can be used for 20 hours continuously before requiring a recharge.
As with most pipettes, the nose cone contains a filter to protect the unit from contamination. These filters must be bought from Matrix (available in cases of 24), and are easy to replace. The nose cone can be removed and autoclaved if desired. The pipette comes with a number of accessories, including a charger, a weighted table stand and a wall-mounted clip for storage. These accessories as well as filters and new nose cones are available for purchase separately, if desired. Unlike other pipettes, the CellMate® II is available in 5 different colors (white, clear, blue, red and green) which may be useful for assigning equipment to people or specific work areas or tasks. A space is also provided for name tags to be inserted if desired. However, this name tag space can cause problems, as it creates a small hole that can allow liquids and glove powder to access the interior and electronics of the pipette.
We use a number of pipettes of different brands in our laboratory, including the CellMate® II. In our hands, we have found the CellMate® II has an extremely good battery life when compared to older models of pipettes, and the visible indicator is very useful. However, we have had to carefully seal the name tag space, as we use pipettes for tissue culture and need to disinfect with 70% ethanol regularly. Another design flaw is that the CellMate® II cannot be put down in a stable position with a pipette attached (a standard procedure for keeping pipettes sterile in a tissue culture environment) as the buttons cause the pipette to fall over. Finally, our unit has had an issue with dispensing liquids – the button occasionally sticks and needs to be pumped several times get started.
Research Scholar
School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences
The University of Queensland