QA

Question: What To Do With Empty Pipette Tip Boxes

3) Storage containers – Empty pipette tip boxes can be used as a tub for solutions or for the storage of tubes, paper clips, bottle caps, etc.

Do pipette tips get recycled?

Plastic pipette tips can absolutely be recycled, but not each waste hauler has the facilities or the confidence to do so. Usually, it means separating your tips into hazardous/non-hazardous, decontaminating them and then depositing them in a puncture proof recycling container.

What can you do with old pipettes?

Place the sealed box or sharps container into a regular laboratory trash can. Label with a hazardous waste tag or radioactive waste tag (as appropriate) after you place the first contaminated pipette into the plastic bag or other container.

What happens to pipette tips after use?

When the lab is done using the tips, they can just use the machine one last time. Rather than discarding into biohazard waste, which is an environmentally and economically costly process. These clean tips can be recycled, or ideally sent back to tip manufacturers for reuse.

Can you autoclave pipette tip boxes?

Tip Boxes. Refill old pipette tip boxes to autoclave new pipette tips. This not only makes loading the autoclave easy but you can use the tips directly from the box after autoclaving. Otherwise, you must place the tips in a glass beaker and cover them with aluminum foil.

Can you reuse plastic pipettes?

Composed of polypropylene, a highly recyclable plastic, pipette tips can now be reused multiple times with the integration of Grenova tip reuse technology in laboratory workflows. On average, a single tip can be washed, sterilized, and reused between 10-25 times.

Why is there a shortage of pipette tips?

An ongoing pipette tip shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, blackouts in Texas, and a manufacturing plant fire is hindering scientific work around the world, from newborn screening to drug development to basic research.

Do pipette tips go in sharps?

According to the WCM’s waste disposal procedures, a “sharp” is any glass, metal, plastic instrument or item that can cut or has the potential to cut, puncture, scratch or abrade skin, whether it is contaminated or not. Using this definition, a pipette tip is considered a sharp and must be placed in a sharps container.

Can aqueous waste always go down the drain?

Some aqueous chemicals or solutions that are not defined as hazardous wastes, and that are either simple inorganic salts or organic materials readily digestible by the microorganisms in a water treatment plant, can generally be disposed of down the drain in limited and controlled quantities.

Are plastic pipettes sharps?

This includes glass, empty bottles, scalpel blades, razor blades syringes and needles. Plastic pipettes and pipette tips are a special type of sharp since they can puncture or cut under special circumstances.

Why do you dispose of the pipette tips every time you use one?

In an actual experiment, after you have used the tip, you usually need to dispose of it. You do not want to use the same tip again after you have touch a sample with the tip, because DNA from the sample could now be on the tip.

How do you autoclave tip boxes?

The Best Recipe for Sterilizing Pipette Tips Open the lid of the tip tray a tad—propping it up with the lid’s locking tab helps; a little tape can hold it in place—don’t wrap the box in foil! Run your dry cycle as normal. Let the damp tips dry in the warm autoclave (or transfer to a drying cabinet/incubator).

What autoclave setting for pipette tips?

Nonhazardous dry goods: 30 minutes of sterilization plus 20 minutes of drying time. Dry time may need to be increased for enclosed items such as pipette tips or bottles with lids. Liquids (add 10–20 minutes for crowded items): Less than 500 milliliters (ml): 30 minutes.

Can PCR tubes be autoclaved?

Biotix discourages autoclaving of robotic pipette tips, PCR tubes and PCR plates due to the warping/ distortion that autoclaving can introduce to these high precision products.

Can you wash pipette tips?

Open the pipette, immerse the parts in a detergent solution, such as Deconex® 12 Basic. Rinse well with distilled water and allow to dry. DNA can be eliminated by immersing pipette parts in at least 3% (w/v) sodium hypochlorite for at least 15 minutes (2,3). Rinse well with distilled water and allow to dry.

Can you clean disposable pipettes?

Pipettes are washed with at least 10 cycles of warm tap water containing mild detergent, similarly rinsed with tap water and finally rinsed with deionized water.

How do you get resin out of a pipette?

“Once the resin has cured and dried, the only way to break it down is to let it soak in acetone or rubbing alcohol. ???? TIP: You can also apply the rubbing alcohol using a spray bottle – easy! Now, with gloves on, wipe the mixing container clean. Spray again, as necessary, until you feel all the resin has been removed.”.

Why are pipette tips so expensive?

The lack of air cushion also decreases the chance of contamination when pipetting corrosives and bio-hazardous material, which makes positive displacement pipettes more suitable for working with those reagents. These pipettes are expensive because the barrel and the tip are a unit and both are replaced when pipetting.

What are pipette tips made out of?

Pipette Tips are made of molded plastics and are clear to allow for easy view of the contents. Micropipette tips can be purchased non-sterile or sterile, filtered or non-filted and all of them should be DNase, RNase, DNA, and pyrogen free.

Where are pipette tips made?

Manufacturer of pipette tips for micropipettes. Features include translucent, disposable and economical. Suitable for laboratory applications. Made in the USA.