Heinrich
Schnitger created the first mechanical micropipette in 1957. During his time as
a postdoc, mouth pipettes were still used in labs. You know, those mouth
pipettes that our lab manuals and our professors always warned us about? Mouth
pipetting was not a pleasant experience. There was a constant danger of
accidentally inhaling harmful substances. The pipettes required great accuracy
skill. They were ridiculously hard to clean, and they tended to break a lot. Schnitger
was so annoyed by mouth pipettes, he decided work on a spring loaded micropipette
in the middle of his research. He literally disappeared for a few days to work
on a new micropipette!
The
new micropipette was a hit in the lab. Experiments went by faster, and the
pipette was not corroded by the caustic substances they were using. His boss
was so impressed he told Schnitger to take a break from research to keep
working on the micropipette. Eventually, Schnitger realized that the improved
micropipette was getting to be a huge sensation, and he applied for a patent,
which was accepted in 1961. Schnitger continued to tinker and make adjustments
to make the micropipette a more effective tool. Unfortunately, he died in 1964
before his invention started to become popular globally.
Later
on in the 1980s, two men by the names of Henry Lardy and Warren Gilson used
Schnitger’s designs to make their own version of the micropipette in the United
States. They fixed it up, made it more comfortable to use, and turned it into
the micropipette we know and love today. They did all this by using loopholes
in Schnitger’s patent to create their own brand of micropipette.
It
was Schnitger’s unique personality, his creative way of thinking, and his love
for efficiency that helped him create one of the most revolutionary tools in
science. When people think of scientists, they sometimes think of these stiff,
humorless people in white lab coats. What people don’t realize is that
scientists are one of the most creative groups of people on this Earth. They’re
curious, they’ll put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of knowledge, and they’ll
break rules to make a process better. Scientists come in all shapes and sizes,
with all sorts skillsets and humors. Schnitger was one of a kind, and he made a
one of a kind tool.
Sources
After looking into how mouth pipettes were used, it can say that the micropipette is a huge improvement over what was basically a glorified straw. Schnitger made labs much safer with his invention and many prospective scientists may not have made it into these fields without this invention.
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome to learn the history of a tool that has become such a staple in the field of science. Students are just taught how to use a micropipette not it's fascinating history of how it became what we know today.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely glad we do not use mouth pipettes today or I would have never taken on my project to work with DNA from decomposing cadavers, that's for sure! Interesting post. We can easily take things for granted that scientists in the past have developed for our use today.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you wrote this! It's another great example of how scientists just make things better. I honestly have never thought about the history of the micropipette, and this really shows that a scientist never knows where the next strike of inspiration might come from.
ReplyDeleteLearning of the history of the micropipette is interesting, and gives insight to the movement away from mouth pipetting. To me the best thing about this story is Schnitger’s decision to make a reliable mechanical pipette, instead of just using a bulb to draw up the liquids into the pipettes.
ReplyDeleteI virtually knew none of this. I do remember the first set of micropipettes that I ever used. They were Gilsons. I'll leave it to other commenters to ponder what year that must have been.
ReplyDelete