Autoclavable Multichannel Pipette From Nichiryo

The multichannel pipette is an important tool in today’s laboratories. A number of companies produce multichannels and one such company is Nichiryo. This review focuses on their range of analogue autoclavable multichannel pipettes, known as Nichipets.

Nichiryo offer pipettes with both 8 and 12 channels with four different working volumes that range from 0.5 µl to 300 µl. The smaller volume pipettes (0.5-10 µl) are adjustable in 0.01 µl increments while the larger sizes are adjustable in 1 µl increments. The reported accuracy of the pipettes range from 8% for the smaller volumes to 0.6% for the 300 µl pipettes, which is reasonable. The manufacturer produces tips for use with the pipettes, but tips from other suppliers can also be used.

The Nichipets look like a standard multichannel pipettes and are made out of tough, pale blue plastic. Liquids are aspirated and dispensed by a thumb-operated push button. The volume is adjusted by screwing the push button in and out. Another lever at the base of the thumb button allows the pipette to be locked to prevent the volume changing during operation. Tips are ejected by a large lever on the main body of the pipette, which must be operated by the opposite hand. This is unusual, as many multichannels are designed for single hand use with a thumb operated tip eject button. The head of the pipette can revolve 360º which means the user to choose the most comfortable position depending on their use and whether they are left or right handed. The pipettes are fully autoclavable (121ºC for 20 minutes) which is a bonus for researchers doing tissue culture or other experiments where sterility is important. The pipettes are also made of UV resistant material which is useful for people who wish to UV sterilize or remove RNases.

We have several of the Nichiryo pipettes in our laboratory, which are used daily for 1-3 hours for tissue culture and general bench work. The pipettes appear robust, although both the head and a screw near the tip holders require regular tightening. One negative is that the aspiration button has a slightly sticky action, meaning liquids cannot be dispensed smoothly. This is an issue when doing tissue culture, as cells can detach if liquids are not added slowly and gently. However, this sticky feeling seems to be lessening over time, and may be a feature of new pipettes only. While the two-handed tip ejection was annoying at first, this design is more comfortable over long periods of use as less strain is put on the operating thumb and hand. If not using the Nichiryo tips that go with the pipettes, we recommend trying tips from a few different suppliers as some fit better than others.