Tritech's P-1000 needle puller provides a lower-cost alternative to units from Sutter, WPI, RWD, Campden, and the Narishige PN-31, PE-22, and PC-100. As a heavy user and reseller of micropipette pullers, we realized that horizontal pullers are unnecessarily complicated, expensive, and less robust than vertical pullers. Even Narishige's venerable pullers presented a pricey overkill for preparing microinjection needles, microelectrodes used in patch clamp studies (intracellular recording), and microperfusion. We decided to produce the P-1000 in response.
The P-1000 incorporates several key features that make it an ideal choice for producing microinjection needles and pipettes for patch clamp experiments:
The built-in power source is specially designed to deliver a stable, uniform amount of power to the heating coil each time and make uniform glass needles and micro-capillary pipettes. Heater levels can be varied in 1000 steps (0.1% precision) and are shown on a highly-visible digital display.
Finely adjustable pulling force is provided by the earth's gravity via 50 small incremental weights — you can't get much more stable or reliable than that! There are no electromagnetic coils to burn out. The force can be varied by adding or removing the included weight discs.
Settings for normal heating, stand-by heating, and timed pre-heating allow for a wide variety of needle tip geometries that traditionally required complicated mechanics in competing pullers.
A variety of optional heating coils and holders allow for pulling 1.0-1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, and even 5mm multi-bore glass tubes.
Full heating range for borosilicate and aluminosilicate glass. Optional heaters for fused silica (quartz glass) pipettes.
Also included are spare heater coils(PC-10H).
We now offer the P-1000 along side Narishige's dual-stage PC-100 to replace the old PC-10, PP-830, PP-83, and even older model PB-7. These models serve as lower-cost and more robust alternatives to Sutter's P-30. We use the P-1000 here at Tritech Research to pull our pre-pulled microcapillary needles (see MINJ-PP) that we sell for C. elegans, Drosophila, Xenopus, Zebrafish, and transgenic mouse work.
Here is a video that shows how the P-1000 works:
(Click "YouTube" for captions and larger view)
Here is a Narishige video that shows how pulling force and heat level parameters affect needle tip length and taper. The P-1000 works the same way. Note: This video also demonstrates a two-stage automated pull. If this is critical for your work, you can order the PC-100.
Q: Why is the P-1000 considerably less expensive than other needle pullers?
A: Tritech Research took a first-principles deep dive into what is important to pull a variety of different types of glass tubing into a variety of shapes. We found that it's not as complicated as traditional units made it. We applied the temperature control circuitry already developed for our incubators to robust, simplified mechanics to create the P-1000, and now you can have it, too!
Q: After recently replacing the heater coil, my pipettes have tips that are not coaxial. What could be the issue?
A: If the heating coil is not positioned so that the glass goes through its center, the glass will heat and melt asymmetrically and produce an asymmetric tip.
Q: How can I set the parameters of the P-1000 to achieve a specific type of needle resistance or tip shape?
A: There are many variables to get a particular size needle opening equivalent to a particular resistance and also effecting tip geometry. These include not only the settings of the puller, but also the type of glass used (composition and diameter), the exact geometry of the heating element, its condition, etc. One suggestion is to contact a lab that is doing similar experiments and try to replicate their protocol when preparing your pipettes.
Generally speaking, a higher heater setting will give a longer thinner tip, and a lower setting will give a shorter, more stubby tip that goes from the full size to a point over a shorter distance. Using all of the weights makes the tip get fine and be sharp quickly, and using less weights makes the tip longer and the taper more gradual.
The tip may come out of the puller with the right size opening, or tips may come out completely sealed, and you will have to perform a secondary operation to open the end of the pipette to the size desired. For example, you can use the acid etching protocol described in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.
Q: Our P-1000 isn't working right and seems to be overheating. What are some troubleshooting tips?
A: The first thing we recommend is checking the heating element itself. Make sure that it is not bent or touching back on itself between coils. Also make sure that it is still perfectly centered around the pipette, and not nicked or thinned. Be certain that it is making secure contact and not loose in any way on either side by tightening the screws that hold it in place. Call us for live troubleshooting help.
Q: How often does one need to replace the heating coil on the P-1000? How do we do it?
A: If the P-1000 is used carefully and at moderate heat settings, a heating coil can last for many years (almost indefinitely) and pull tens of thousands of needles. However, if it gets more than orange hot or gets banged into, bent, etc., then it can degrade or heat unevenly and fail quickly.
Fortunately, it's quite easy to change: First make sure the unit is unplugged / off, because the heater might be pre-heated even between pulls, depending on your OffHeat setting, even if it's not visibly hot. The copper clamps hold the heater on each side. You loosen them to remove the old heater (but note the orientation so you can replicate it), and insert the new heater. The tedious part is that, when you install the new coil, you have to carefully position it so that the capillary tube will go right through its center. This is done best by having a piece of glass in the unit before the final tightening of the clamps. It is also permissible to bend the heater slightly, using fine forceps to aid in centering.
Q: Can the P-1000 produce sharp electrodes needed for patch clamp recording purposes with a resistance in the 50 MegaOhm range?
A:Yes, the P-1000 is great for pulling very sharp pipettes with sub-micron openings.
†
These are our list prices. If you are paying with an Institutional
Purchase Order or by check, you qualify for a 7.5% discount. Click
here
to change your payment method and see the lower prices.
Narishige's PC-100 glass micropipette puller is a dual-stage vertical pipette puller system that provides reliable and consistent production of micropipets / glass needles with tip sizes ranging from 10 microns (10µm) to tenths of a µm.
The PC-100 incorporates several key features that make it an ideal choice for producing microinjection needles and pipettes for patch clamp experiments. The built-in power source is specially stabilized to deliver a uniform amount of current to the heating coil each time to make uniform glass needles and pipettes. The pulling force is provided by the earth's gravity, so you can't get much more stable or reliable than that. There are no electromagnetic coils to burn out. The force can be varied by adding or removing the included weight blocks (all of which are shown installed in the photo).
Heater levels for both single and double pull operations can be adjusted, and the heater level is shown by a highly-visible digital display.
During the pulling process, micropipettes are shielded from air currents by the use of an acrylic shroud. This excludes external drafts that might otherwise affect the shape and size of the micropipette.
Two pairs of weights (two light and two heavy) are provided for adjustment of the pulling force. Also included are a spare heater coil (PC-10H), and a sample of 1.0mm I.D. glass microcapillary tubes with internal glass fiber (GD-1).
Narishige now offers the more automatic and full-featured PC-100 to replace the old PC-10, PP-830, PP-83, and even older model PB-7. It serves as a lower-cost and more robust alternative to Sutter's P-30. In fact, we use the PC-100 here at Tritech Research to pull our pre-pulled microcapillary needles (see MINJ-PP) that we sell for C. elegans, Drosophila, Xenopus, Zebrafish, and transgenic mouse work.
Here is a video that shows how PC-100 parameters affect needle tip length and taper:
Specification
Accessories included
GD-1 Glass Capillary with filament sample pack, Spare PC-10H Heater, Power Cord
Q: How can I troubleshoot my broken PC-100 to find out what the issue is? For example, if the display only reads 0.0 and will not increase nor will the coil heat when the red button is pushed.
A: First, for doing your testing, we suggest using the "Heater" setting on the selector switch, rather than the Step setting, so that the heater will be on all the time and not be dependent on the button push, carriage position, etc. A blown fuse would result in no display at all. You can see what happens by removing the fuse and comparing to see if the fuse is currently "working". Checking / changing the heating coil is a great place to start. If it isn't making good contact on both sides or is broken or nearly broken, that would definitely cause a problem and it might be intermittent at first.
Q: After recently replacing the coil and adjusting the heaters, my PC-100 is still having issues. I am not able to pull any decent pipettes. What could be the issue?
A: In general, higher temperatures will give a longer, finer tip and lower temperatures will give a more blunt tip. Please also check that the new heater is positioned so that the glass tube goes exactly down the middle of the coil (for even heating).
Q: How can I set the parameters of the PC-100 to achieve a specific type of needle tip?
A: There are many variables to get a particular size needle opening equivalent to a particular resistance. These include not only the settings of the puller, but also the glass used, the type of heater used in the puller, its condition, etc. Our main suggestion is that you contact a lab that is doing similar experiments and try to replicate their protocol for preparing your pipettes. The PC-100 can do both single and double pulls, so I'd start by finding out with is better / more typical. Generally speaking, a higher heater setting will give a longer thinner tip, and a lower setting will give a shorter tip that goes from the full size to a point over a shorter distance. Using all of the weights makes the tip get fine and be sharp quickly, and using less weights makes the tip longer and more gradual. The tip may come out of the puller with the right size opening, or sometimes the tips will come out completely sealed, and you will have to perform a secondary operation to open the end of the pipette to the size desired. For example, you can use the acid etching protocol described in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.
Q: Our PC-100 has stopped working and seems to be overheating. What are some troubleshooting tips?
A: The first thing we recommend is checking the heating element itself. Make sure that it is not bent or touching back on itself (if you have the coil type). Also make sure that it is still perfectly centered around the pipette, and not nicked.
Q: How can I replace the coil on the PC-100?
A: First make sure the unit is unplugged / off, because the heater is pre-heated even between pulls, it's just not orange-hot. There are little metal bars that hold the heater on each side. You loosen / remove them to change the heater. The tedious part is that when you put the new coil in, you have to carefully position it so that the capillary tube will go right through the center. This is done best by having a piece of glass in the unit before the final tightening of the bars.
Q: Can the PC-100 produce sharp electrodes needed for purposes with resistances around 50 MegaOhms?
A:Yes, the PC-100 is great for pulling very sharp pipettes with a sub-micron opening.
†
These are our list prices. If you are paying with an Institutional
Purchase Order or by check, you qualify for a 7.5% discount. Click
here
to change your payment method and see the lower prices.
