Expert view: What role do connected pipettes play in the lab of the future?

Researchers often keep paper logs of their pipetting activities, but this can be difficult to sustain and details can end up getting summarised or missed. If a mistake occurs, such as pipetting in the wrong well without noticing and the results are published, other researchers who try to build on those results risk carrying that mistake forward. As each step builds on the next, accidental errors will compound, leading to greater losses caused by inaccurate data.

Gilson’s PIPETMAN^® M Connected pipettes, when paired with TRACKMAN^® Connected, apply Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that provide clarity to scientists’ pipetting activities. With their connected platform, researchers can enhance existing pipetting workflows and be guided through their protocol, helping them with the mundane steps of their research. The software automatically documents liquid handling activities in the background, providing researchers with a report of each action they take. This enables them to not only review past efforts as they plan for the future, but also facilitates collaboration.

When paired with a larger connected ecosystem, such as the Electronic Lab Notebook, SciNote, researchers can share their plans and results with colleagues who can be confident that they are following the same steps when trying to reproduce an experiment’s results.