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Disposable Pippets or Borosilicate glass pippets?
Disposable Pippets or Borosilicate glass pippets?Hello,
I purchased supplies to make a hair conditioner a couple of months ago. Some of the ingredients are liquid that I have to use in the recipe (Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol SA, Bamboo Extract, and Rhadiola Hair Extract). I used plastic pipettes to measure the liquid in a container on a scale. Since it is hard to clean the pippetes after using them, should I throw them away after each use? If so, should I buy a bunch of disposable pippettes? I heard there are pippettes that are able to be sterilized called Borosilicate glass pippettes. Thoughts on these? Also, are there any other strategies of measuring the liquids without pippettes? Could I pour the liquid in a container and if it is too much, pour the liquid back into the container or is this contamination? Thanks so much! -
15 Replies
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Pipettes are quick and easy, pipettes are made as consumables, both plastic and glass pipettes and should be tossed after use. Pipettes are quite cheap, find some boxes of 500, it is much cheaper than buying 1-100 pipettes at a time.You should always measure in weight/weight %, never volume so what method of transfer you prefer is completely up to you. With that said, you should not pour into another container and back into the bulk container, as this increases the risk of contamination and is poor practice in any lab (even a home one). -
You can buy plastic disposable pipettes on AliExpress very cheap.
I agree with Sibech, never re-use them. Unless you have an autoclave, you can’t sterilize anything at home. it’s best indeed not to pour a liquid back into a container (also regarding cross contamination with other substances). -
You can re-use glass pipettes but you must steep them in hot soapy water, then ethanol to sterilize. Sounds like a lot but I do it all the time you just need to get used to that way of thinking.You can get glass Pasteur pipettes from Chase Instruments in a 250 box. They will last you a long time and make you feel better. Hope this helps
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We always used plastic disposable pipettes
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I think I should elaborate; there are several types of glass pipettes some are reusable, others not so much (the glass Pasteur pipette’s I’ve worked with were not suitable for reuse).I would still advice against a reusable one, but if you insist on reusing it, then look for something along the lines of a graduated pipette. Just remember that they are a bit more of a hassle to clean and never to get anything into the suction bulb except air.
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I have always seen disposable, single-use pipets. Attempting to re-use them is really a false savings. There are numerous online sources. I purchase them, as consumables about every 6 months.
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Dr Catherine Pratt said:You can re-use glass pipettes but you must steep them in hot soapy water, then ethanol to sterilize.
Ethanol doesn’t sterilize.
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@doreen but it sanitizes. I think that in GMP for cosmetics it is enough to sanitize your equipment.I have never seen references of a need of sterilized conditions.
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OK so to be more specific use hot bio-degradable detergent to remove residues, then rinsed using sterile water, followed by disinfection with a 200ppm chlorine solution. Then air dry and store. Before using ANY glass equipment it is best to spray with ethanol or isopropanol, including the contact surfaces.And yes alcohol is a disinfection/sanitation not sterilization.Have you ever tried sonication?
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Regardless of what you do, you should have sanitation policies, SOP’s and logs in place if you want to adhere to good practices. The basic philosophy parallels what Dr. Pratt said. Remove any adhered solids, cleanse with an approved detergent, rinse with copious amounts of water (in the lab I use DI since I have it) and then spray with alcohol. You should even consider defining how they are stored when not in use.If a product is meant to be disposable, it is a false savings to attempt to re-use it. I use enough disposable pipets to order every 6 months. I do however use them at a rate that I would have to stock so many pipets that sanitation would be a burden. Just buy the disposable pipets. If anyone needs a source, I can email them the link.
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Yes I am sure there are many ways to store glass beakers etc. I worked in a lab once and we were using GCMS at very small levels (ng & pg). So after the alcohol we put Aluminium foil over the top and then stored them. Even then the blanks still had contamination in them.Has anyone else had to do this, or maybe there are different ways to store glass now?
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Oh and the Al foil had to be rinsed with ethanol first!
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Dr Catherine Pratt said:Yes I am sure there are many ways to store glass beakers etc. I worked in a lab once and we were using GCMS at very small levels (ng & pg). So after the alcohol we put Aluminium foil over the top and then stored them. Even then the blanks still had contamination in them.Has anyone else had to do this, or maybe there are different ways to store glass now?
After glassware was thoroughly cleaned we had to rinse it with purified water and let it dry in a drying chamber. Afterwards cover it in plastic, date written on it. After a month, used or not, same procedure again.
Before use sanitizing with IPA 70%.This was procedure for glassware used for non sterile preparations (like ad hoc dermatics) in a GMP certified hospital pharmacy where I worked.
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I use both, but plastic disposable pipettes are the easiest to work with.
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