Services for Liquid Handing Products
Liquid handling products are used daily to prepare samples, controls, and assay reagents in most laboratory. Since mechanical and electronical pipettes as well as dispensers touch virtually every experiment, accuracy is extremely important.
Sartorius’ certified and accredited services ensure the desired quality of your laboratory results and reliability of your pipetting devices.
Reliable, Reproducible Pipetting and Dispensing Results
Our services are performed at on-site or in one of our Sartorius calibration laboratories. Services are also available for devices from other manufacturers.
- Audit security and regulatory compliance
- Optimized device performance
- Consistently reliable and reproducible pipetting and dispensing results
- Short service times
Our Range of Service Solutions
Maintenance for Liquid Handling Products
Consistent Performance and Extended Lifetime for Pipetting Equipment
Precision devices require regular professional maintenance and calibration to deliver consistently accurate and reliable results and fulfill regulatory requirements. With our maintenance service, you can fully rely on your pipettes and ensure maximum productivity.
- Consistently reliable pipetting results
- Trouble-free operation, reduction of downtime
- Short service times
- Available for devices from other manufacturers
Available Assets
Calibration for Liquid Handling Products
Reliable, Traceable and Audit-Secure Results
Liquid handling devices must be calibrated regularly in order to achieve precise results and meet regulatory requirements. Sartorius service performs on-site or in-house calibrations according to ISO 8655 right to your needs. We also document if manufacturer, customer or ISO 8655 tolerances are met.
We are accredited according to ISO | IEC 17025 in several countries. This ensures traceability to national standards and gives confidence to your measurement results.
Calibration certificates with ISO | IEC 17025 accreditation are internationally recognized and provide the necessary security for your testing materials monitoring. The uncertainty of measurement is always displayed in detail on 17025 accredited calibration certificates.
- Calibration according to ISO 8655
- Professional, easy-to-read certificates and reports
- Accredited calibration in accordance with ISO | IEC 17025 in many countries
- Traceability of measurement results to national standards
- Measurement uncertainty calculation
Available Assets
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular calibration and performance checking is the only way to determine if a pipette is accurately dispensing. During calibration, a comparison of the pipetted volume with a known or correct value is made.
Calibration is the basis for reliable and reproducible results. It confirms the pipette works within defined error limits.
In an ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory, pipettes are usually calibrated according to ISO 8655 by trained service personnel. The calibrator tests and adjusts the pipettes, usually in a 3-point calibration (100% - 50% - 10% of nominal volume). At least 10 replicate measurements are typically performed per selected volume.
By performing a gravimetric calibration, a balance with moisture trap and distilled water is used, along with an environmentally controlled room.
Yes. To fulfill the ISO standard, the manufacturer or customer/user tolerances must be stricter or equal to ISO 8655 tolerances.
Pipettes will be accurate when correct pipetting techniques are used. Considering liquid properties, using proper fitting tips and keeping the pipette well-maintained and calibrated ensures accuracy and repeatability. Calibrated pipettes will stay accurate longer if cleaned and stored properly. Heavily used pipettes require maintenance more often. If dropped, any pipette should be checked for damage and performance issues.
According to the ISO 8655, pipettes must be calibrated at least once a year. Beyond that, the following should be taken into consideration:
- Risk of application
- Frequency of use
- Number of users
- Liquids dispensed - and their vapors
- Acceptable maximum permissible errors
- Manufacturer information
The ISO 17025 standard specifies general requirements for the competence of calibration laboratories to carry out tests and calibrations. A pipette calibration laboratory with ISO 17025 accreditation provides the highest level of reliability and confidence in pipette calibration, as proven by the uncertainty of measurement provided for each calibration when required. Achieving and maintaining ISO 17025 accreditation requires extensive testing of personnel, procedures and facilities, with the accreditation reviewed in an annual audit by the relevant body. Using an ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory is essential for laboratories where quality and reliability of results are important as it guarantees:
- All measurements are traceable to national and international methods and standards
- Uncertainty of the pipette and measuring process are taken into account
- The laboratory issuing the certificate has been approved by independent experts and authorities (e.g., DAkkS, UKAS, ANAB, COFRAC, UKAS, JCSS or FINAS)
- Accredited pipette calibration certificates are widely accepted around the world
International Standard ISO 8655 specifies the requirements for pipettes and pipette calibration laboratories, providing detailed guidance for the respective environmental conditions, procedures, and equipment. ISO 8655:2022 contains requirements for producing and inuse control of piston-operated volumetric apparatus (POVA). This includes testing methods, testing environment, testing equipment, reporting requirements, requirements for measurement uncertainty, and general requirements for how POVAs work. ISO 8655:2022 is applicable to pipettes, burettes, dilutors, dispensers and manually operated precision laboratory syringes.
If you suspect your pipette is out of specifications, you should send it for maintenance and calibration. Calibration should be only adjusted by trained service personnel - Sartorius does not recommend adjusting it yourself. Some pipettes (like Sartorius Tacta) have user adjustment as well, which is intended to account for special liquid or environmental properties. See the pipette's user manual for instructions.
