Micropipettes are surprisingly difficult to master.
A micropipette is a lab tool used to measure and move very small amounts of a liquid. These volumes are measured in microliters (1,000 microliters in 1 milliliter). A disposable tip is attached to the micropipette. After each use, it is ejected and thrown away. The process of ejecting a used pipette tip and equipping a new one is quite fun. It’s almost like reloading a weapon. Anyways, this helps to prevent contamination between samples, and tips come in a variety of shapes of sizes. There are many different sizes of micropipettes (which I’ll cover later), and each has a corresponding tip that fits.
We first went over the basic parts. The volume window shows how much liquid will be aspirated or dispensed. The plunger and dial are used to draw up and release liquid and to adjust the volume setting. The tip ejector ejects the used tip into the biohazard bin.
To aspirate liquid, the plunger is pressed slowly to the first stop before placing the tip just under the surface of the liquid. The liquid is drawn up by slowly releasing the plunger. The tube should be held at eye level to make sure no air bubbles are pulled in.
To dispense, the tip is placed against the side of the receiving tube at a slight angle. The plunger is pressed through the first stop and then all the way to the second stop. The tip is removed while still holding the plunger down. Some people advise against going all the way to the second stop as it may introduce bubbles and possibly change the outcome of the experiment.
The desired volume has to fall within the pipette’s range. The dial is turned carefully to the correct volume while watching the volume window. The pipette is then pressed into a correctly sized tip in the tip box. Tips should never be touched by hand.
Common sizes include P-2, P-20, P-200, and P-1000. Each one has a specific range. A P-20, for example, can measure up to 20 microliters. A P-200 cannot accurately measure very small volumes.
Going under or over a pipette’s range can damage its calibration. Once that happens, the measurements cannot be trusted. We also learned that different micropipettes may be calibrated slightly differently. Ten microliters on one pipette may not be identical to ten microliters on another. Because of that, labs usually require using the same micropipette for the same assay.
A High-Level Introduction
For the rest of the day we covered some more material. We talked about proteins and why they matter in research. Proteins act as enzymes, structural components, signaling molecules, and transporters. Many diseases involve proteins that do not function properly, which is why measuring protein expression is so common in labs.
Western blots were introduced as a way to detect specific proteins. The full process includes isolating proteins, measuring their concentration, separating them by size using a gel, transferring them to a membrane, and using antibodies to visualize the target protein. Thicker bands indicate higher protein levels.
We also reviewed basic immunology concepts. Antigens are markers that trigger immune responses. Antibodies are proteins produced by B cells that bind to specific antigens. This interaction follows a lock and key model. These ideas connect to techniques like Western blots, blood typing, vaccines, and allergy responses.
Lab Assignments
We also received our lab assignments at the end of bootcamp along with who our mentors would be. I was put in the Alachkar Lab, a lab that focuses on using genomic information to identify cancer targets and study how those targets function, to develop more targeted cancer therapies. Dr. Alachkar and the people in her lab focus on acute myeloid leukemia. Next week will be my first day in the lab. Very exciting stuff!
