Pipet/Mix Mode (Video)
How to use the VIAFLO / VOYAGER pipettes:
Pipet/Mix Mode
Mixing with manual pipettes can be quite tedious, and it's not very easy on the finger hand or thumb. With electronic pipettes, however, not only are they more reproducible, but all it takes is one button.
With the INTEGRA electronic pipettes, the Pipette/Mix Mode is perfect for when mixing is required immediately after the transfer of one liquid into another. To set this up, first enter the program from the main menu. Now, we can change the settings of the program by clicking on edit. You'll send an aspiration volume - essentially, this is liquid which you'll aspirate and needs to be mixed together with a second liquid. The setting mix is the exact volume which should be mixed.
Typically, you wanna mix it up, so that the two liquids are completely blended, but not so much that air enters your tips. Mix cycles indicates how many times the mix will be performed, and the speeds can also be individually set - the speed of the first aspiration, and the speed of the up and down motion of the mix itself.
Once the parameters are set, return to the RUN screen and you're ready to begin. Just like with all other programs, the black highlighted step indicates exactly what will happen when you press the RUN button on the pipette. Pressing RUN will start the first aspiration, and then pressing RUN a second time will begin the mix cycle.
When finished, a blowout is automatically performed, expelling all liquid out of the tip, and the pipette will prompt you to remove the tips from the liquid and press RUN to complete the cycle. If you're doing any mixing in your lab, Pipet/Mix Mode with the INTEGRA electronic pipettes will make your work much easier and improve the consistency of your results.