Innovative Plastics Technology in Modern Analytics
Medicine and natural sciences are dependent on the dosing of very low liquid volumes within seconds. Thereby modern analytics increasingly requires the aspiration and dispensation by automated pipetting systems, which alone are able to meet the requirements for quantities, speed and accuracy and improve workflow efficiency. Manual pipetting as a working technique in the everyday laboratory operations of synchronous test runs and time efficiency has therefore been largely replaced through automation.
With the large number of dosings carried out in the shortest time and in parallel, the demands on the design and materials of the systems also increase.
Manufacturers are therefore constantly looking for new materials and solutions to produce the ideal dosing regime for the customer requirements that are becoming increasingly complex; both under the specific demands of medical technology, precision and hygiene on the one hand, and under the general economic aspects, productivity and cost pressure on the other hand. Plain bearings made of solid lubricants and maintenance-free tribo-polymers are an essential factor. High-performance plastic plain bearings offer crucial advantages when it comes to reducing weight, cost and the required installation space.
Pipetting Systems and System Components
The diversity of applications has naturally led to the development of a wide range of devices. The market offers a large spectrum that covers simple “mini samplers” as well as fully integrated automated analysis systems, in which even the used pipetting needles are replaced automatically.
Although manual systems are still produced, the trend is clearly towards electronic and fully automated systems. The currently used devices mostly use a technology that is based on ball bearings and drives for their dynamic functions. However, innovative plastic materials and methods used in the maintenance-free plain bearings technology open up a field of new possibilities in order to develop more efficient and cost-effective equipment.