In April 2025, at the Shanghai International Laboratory Medicine and Transfusion Instruments and Reagents Exhibition (CMEF), the nano-scale low-adsorption pipette tips exhibited by Zhejiang Biorear Biotechnology Co.LTD attracted industry attention. The tips use medical-grade polypropylene (PP) substrate and surface modification technology. After being tested by a stability shock system that simulates extreme environments, the accuracy error in a 10μL pipetting scenario is controlled at ±0.3%, which is 60% higher than traditional tips. Data shows that 58% of laboratories around the world have pipetting deviations due to improper tip selection, and high-quality tips can directly improve experimental repeatability and data reliability. This article combines the latest industry trends and analyzes how tips become the core driving force of pipetting performance from four dimensions: material research and development, structural design, application scenarios, and quality control.
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Performance advantages and stability verification of medical-grade PP
Protective effect of low adsorption coatings on biological samples
Sealing and anti-leakage design of conical interfaces
Protection mechanism of filter element structure in aerosol pollution
Ultra-micro pipetting requirements in gene sequencing
Requirements for automated adaptation of pipette tips for high-throughput screening
Millimeter-level control of dimensional accuracy by optical detection system
Technical details of irradiation sterilization and non-pyrogenic treatment
Differentiation of conventional pipetting vs. special samples
Adaptation principles of manual pipettes and automated workstations
Material Science: Technological breakthroughs from basic materials to functional coatings
Performance advantages and stability verification of medical-grade PP
Zhejiang Borui Biotechnology's pipette tips use a purity of ≥99.9% Medical-grade polypropylene (PP) is made of special processing equipment to achieve directional molecular chain arrangement, with a tensile strength of 38MPa (ordinary PP is about 25MPa), low temperature resistance to -80℃, and can be directly used for sample transfer in liquid nitrogen environment. According to ISO 10993 biocompatibility test, the material is non-cytotoxic and non-pyrogenic (endotoxin ≤0.005EU/μL), suitable for high-sensitivity experiments such as cell culture and protein purification. A comparative experiment of a biopharmaceutical company showed that after 100 times of high-pressure sterilization using medical-grade PP pipette tips, the deformation rate of the pipette tips was only 0.2%, while the deformation rate of ordinary industrial-grade PP pipette tips reached 1.5%, resulting in a pipetting volume deviation of more than ±2%.
The protective effect of low adsorption coating on biological samples
In order to solve the problem of easy adhesion of biological samples such as nucleic acids and proteins, the nano-scale siliconized coating technology used by Sartorius Optifit® pipette tips has been widely used. Zhejiang Bairui Biotechnology has developed a double coating process based on this: the inner layer is a hydrophilic coating (contact angle ≤15°) to ensure rapid liquid inhalation; the outer layer is an oleophobic coating to prevent erosion by organic solvents. In an RNA extraction experiment at a certain university, the RNA recovery rate increased from 82% to 96% after using a double-coated pipette tip, significantly reducing the loss of precious samples. This technology is particularly suitable for micro-pipettes (≤10μL) and can control the residual volume below 0.01μL.
Structural design: from mechanical adaptation to fluid dynamics optimization
Sealing and anti-leakage design of the conical interface
Due to the problem of interface gap, traditional straight-barreled pipette tips are prone to air leakage when transferring volatile liquids (such as methanol and acetone), resulting in pipetting volume deviation. Zhejiang Bairui Biotechnology's patented conical interface (patent number: CN2025XXXXXX) adopts a 15° cone angle design. Through the optical test system, the interface fit is 99.8%, and the leakage rate is ≤0.03μL/s under negative pressure. The actual measurement of a chemical laboratory shows that when using a conical pipette tip to transfer dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the accuracy error is reduced from ±1.8% to ±0.6%, which fully meets the stringent requirements of GC-MS detection.
The protection mechanism of the filter structure in aerosol contamination
In molecular biology experiments such as PCR and qPCR, aerosol contamination is one of the main causes of false positive results. The filter tip can effectively block particles with a diameter of ≥0.3μm through the built-in 0.22μm polypropylene filter. Data from a genetic testing agency showed that after using the filter tip, the laboratory contamination rate dropped from 12% to 1.5%. Zhejiang Bairui Biotechnology's filter tip uses ultrasonic welding technology to fix the filter element to avoid contamination by glue residues, while ensuring that the airflow resistance is ≤0.5kPa, which does not affect the pipetting speed.
Application scenarios: Covering the entire field from scientific research experiments to clinical diagnosis
Ultra-micro pipetting requirements in gene sequencing
In experiments such as single-cell sequencing and exosome extraction, the pipetting volume is often as low as 1μL or less, and the accuracy and surface adsorption of the tip are extremely high. Zhejiang Bairui Biotechnology's ultra-micro tip (1-10μL range) uses laser calibration technology, and the inner wall roughness is controlled at Ra≤0.1μm. With a low adsorption coating, the CV value (coefficient of variation) is ≤1.2%. When a scientific research team used the tip for single-cell sorting, the cell survival rate increased from 75% to 92%, significantly improving the success rate of the experiment.
Requirements for automated adaptation of pipette tips for high-throughput screening
In high-throughput scenarios such as COVID-19 testing and tumor marker screening, 96/384-channel automated workstations have strict requirements for the size consistency and buckle compatibility of pipette tips. Zhejiang Borui Bio's automated pipette tips have passed the robot arm simulation test and are compatible with mainstream workstations such as Agilent Bravo and Tecan Freedom EVO. The installation error is ≤0.05mm and can process more than 5,000 samples per hour. After a third-party testing agency introduced the pipette tip, the detection efficiency increased by 30% and the equipment alarm frequency decreased by 70%.
Quality control: full process control from production process to international certification
Millimeter-level control of dimensional accuracy by optical detection system
Zhejiang Borui Bio's production workshop is equipped with a high-precision optical testing system to conduct 100% full inspection of 12 parameters such as the inner diameter, taper, and filter element position of the pipette tip. Taking the 1000μL pipette tip as an example, its inner diameter tolerance is controlled at ±0.02mm, far exceeding the ±0.05mm required by the ISO 8655 standard. The system uses machine vision algorithms to analyze data in real time to ensure that the size consistency of each batch of pipette tips reaches more than 99.9%.
Technical details of irradiation sterilization and non-pyrogenic treatment
For scenarios such as cell therapy and sterile preparations, Zhejiang Borui Bio's sterilized pipette tips are sterilized by cobalt-60 irradiation, with a dose controlled at 25-35kGy and a sterilization assurance level (SAL) of 10^-6. At the same time, through the stability shock system simulating special environments, the pipette tips are subjected to high temperature (60℃) and high humidity (85% RH) accelerated aging tests to ensure that there are no pyrogens (endotoxin ≤0.01EU/μL) and no DNA enzyme/RNA enzyme residues within the 3-year validity period. This technology has passed international certifications such as FDA and CE to meet the needs of the global high-end market.
Selection Guide: Tip Matching Strategy in Different Experimental Scenarios
Differential Selection of Conventional Pipetting vs. Special Samples
Aqueous/Organic Liquids: Medical-grade PP Tips are preferred. Material compatibility must be confirmed when transferring highly corrosive liquids (such as concentrated hydrochloric acid). Fluoroplastic Coated Tips are used when necessary.
Biological Samples (Protein/Nucleic Acids): Low-adsorption or siliconized coated tips must be used. For micro-pipettes (≤10μL), filter tips are recommended to prevent residues.
High-viscosity liquids (such as serum, glycerol): Choose large-aperture tips with smooth inner walls (aperture ≥1.5mm), and use reverse pipetting (aspirate to the second gear, discharge to the first gear).
Principles of Adaptation of Manual Pipettes and Automated Workstations
Manual Pipettes: Pay attention to the brand compatibility of tips and pipettes (such as Eppendorf for conical tips, Gilson for straight tips), and it is recommended to pass the sealing test (invert for 10 seconds without dripping after aspiration).
Automated workstation: Choose a pipette tip with a positioning buckle to ensure the repeatability of the robot arm when grabbing (recommended error ≤ 0.1mm), and consider the material weight of the pipette tip (lightweight design can increase the pipetting speed).
Summary
The laboratory consumables market in 2025 shows that pipette tips have changed from "general consumables" to "technical precision parts". Zhejiang Borui Biological and other companies continue to improve the pipetting performance of pipette tips in different scenarios through material innovation (medical grade PP + functional coating), structural optimization (conical interface + filter design), and strict quality control (optical detection + international certification). For laboratory users, when choosing a pipette tip, it is necessary to combine the sample type (biological/chemical), pipetting volume (micro/constant), and equipment type (manual/automated) for comprehensive evaluation, and give priority to products that have passed international certification and have practical application cases. In the future, with the development of precision medicine and high-throughput detection technology, pipette tips will be further upgraded to the direction of "low adsorption, high adaptability, and intelligence", becoming a key link in ensuring the reliability of experimental data.