INTEGRA has expanded the range of interchangeable pipetting heads for its market-leading handheld VIAFLO 96/384 electronic pipettes.

The introduction of the new 50 microliter head enables the VIAFLO 96/384 to uniquely offer optimised pipetting performance in five volume ranges 0.5-12.5, 2-50, 5-125, 10-300 and 50-1250 microliters.  Accommodating pipetting heads that are quickly and easily interchanged enables investment in a single VIAFLO 96/384 base unit rather than multiple units as would be required by other systems to achieve optimised performance at different pipetting volumes from 0.5 to 1250 microliters.

Good pipetting practice for any air displacement pipette recommends that you work in a volume range of 30% -100% of nominal volume because performance specifications change with decreasing volume. Additionally, working in the optimal volume range is less dependent on operator and environment conditions. This also applies to pipetting heads. Most handheld pipettes and pipetting heads are based on the same physical principle - air displacement. The smaller the sample volume relatively to the full stroke volume, the more dead air will be in your pipetting system. Air as a gas is influenced by physical parameters such as temperature, humidity and pressure. Therefore the more air inside your pipetting system the larger the influence of those parameters resulting in a negative impact upon the accuracy and precision of your pipetting results.

With an INTEGRA VIAFLO 96/384 handheld electronic pipette, users can always work in the optimal volume range, simply by exchanging the pipetting head. This leads to more accurate and reproducible pipetting results in the lab, where conditions are usually not as stable as in a fully climate controlled calibration environment.

The VIAFLO 96/384 is a handheld 96- / 384-channel electronic pipette that enables fast, precise and easy transfer of 96 or 384 samples simultaneously. Uniquely the VIAFLO 96/384 offers all the benefits of increased sample throughput as well as lower sample and reagent use without the expense of having to invest in a robotic liquid handling system. The VIAFLO 96/384 has been designed to be used just like a standard handheld pipette. Therefore, no special skills or training are required to operate it. Servo assisted motor steering ensure that operating the VIAFLO 96/384 is both effortless and precise. The VIAFLO 96/384 features the company's popular Touch Wheel™ pipette user interface enabling simple and fast programming of a wide range of pipetting modes including repeat dispense, serial dilute and mixing routines.

Labs will immediately benefit from the increased productivity and high precision delivered by a VIAFLO 96/384.   Fast plate filling and replication, reagent addition or serial dilutions in 96- and 384-well plates is now as easy as pipetting with a standard electronic pipette into a single tube.  The VIAFLO 96/384 comes with 10 pre-defined pipetting modes enabling the system to be used productively almost immediately.  A further 40 user designated custom programs allow even the most diverse and complex pipetting operations. The VIAFLO 96/384 can be connected to a PC with VIALINK software enabling easy custom program exchange and firmware upgrades.

Using the VIAFLO 96/384 position settings, like pipetting height or tip alignment to the wells, can be defined by the user ensuring optimal access to all types of 96- and 384-well plates. The VIAFLO 96/384 is fully compatible with GripTip pipette tips which provide a perfect seal every time and won't fall off during use.

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