Microinjection pipettes for microbeads

[krisford]

Hello everyone,

I want to microinject human adipose stem cells with microbeads that range in size from 0.5-2.8 microns in diameter.  I am using a Narishige IM-9B microinjector.  This company does not sell pre-fabricated pipettes.  Can anyone recommend a company/brand of microinjection pipettes that are useful for microinjection of microbeads?  Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Kris Ford
Graduate Student
Biomedical Engineering
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Phone# [phone]

[Martin Wessendorf-2]

Dear Kris--

Rather than try to buy what you need, you might just go over to the
Physiology Department in the medical school and ask who the
electrophysiologists are.  An electrophysiologist will have devices that
can pull pipettes to a wide range of diameters.  My guess is that you'll
want to find someone pulling patch-clamp electrodes--those tend to be
about 1 micron--and then see what you can do by manipulating the pulling
parameters.  Or even easier, just take a too-small pipette and bump it
under microscopic control against a piece of glass--you can break the
tip to just about anything you need.

Good luck!

Martin Wessendorf

[hidden email] wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I want to microinject human adipose stem cells with microbeads that
> range in size from 0.5-2.8 microns in diameter.  I am using a Narishige
> IM-9B microinjector.  This company does not sell pre-fabricated
> pipettes.  Can anyone recommend a company/brand of microinjection
> pipettes that are useful for microinjection of microbeads?  Thanks for
> any advice you can offer.
>
> Kris Ford
> Graduate Student
> Biomedical Engineering
> University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
> Phone# [phone]

--
Martin Wessendorf, Ph.D.                   office: [phone]
Assoc Prof, Dept Neuroscience                 lab: [phone]
University of Minnesota             Preferred FAX: [phone]
6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE    Dept Fax: [phone]
Minneapolis, MN  55455
**MY E-MAIL ADDRESS HAS CHANGED.  PLEASE USE [hidden email] **

[Franco Del Principe]

Dear Kris and Martin

Martin's proposition is excellent.

Electrophysiologists have the appropriate borosilicate glass and
micropipette pullers. However, do NOT try to manipulate the parameters
yourself!!! Always ask an experienced user to pull them for you.

The puller is the electrophysiologist's sanctuary and the pipette's
shape and properties a science of its own. You mess with it and it's
likely you're going to be killed. More so if you break the heating
filament... ;-)

Just my 2 cents

Cheers

Franco

Martin Wessendorf wrote:

> Dear Kris--
>
> Rather than try to buy what you need, you might just go over to the
> Physiology Department in the medical school and ask who the
> electrophysiologists are.  An electrophysiologist will have devices that
> can pull pipettes to a wide range of diameters.  My guess is that you'll
> want to find someone pulling patch-clamp electrodes--those tend to be
> about 1 micron--and then see what you can do by manipulating the pulling
> parameters.  Or even easier, just take a too-small pipette and bump it
> under microscopic control against a piece of glass--you can break the
> tip to just about anything you need.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Martin Wessendorf
>
> [hidden email] wrote:
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I want to microinject human adipose stem cells with microbeads that
>> range in size from 0.5-2.8 microns in diameter.  I am using a
>> Narishige IM-9B microinjector.  This company does not sell
>> pre-fabricated pipettes.  Can anyone recommend a company/brand of
>> microinjection pipettes that are useful for microinjection of
>> microbeads?  Thanks for any advice you can offer.
>>
>> Kris Ford
>> Graduate Student
>> Biomedical Engineering
>> University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
>> Phone# [phone]
>

--
       ___      ___   _______
      /  /     /  /  /  ____/
     /  /     /  /  /  /___
    /  /     /  /  /___   /
   /  /___  /  /  ____/  /
  /______/ /__/  /______/             Dr. Franco Del Principe
------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE IMAGING SERVICES GmbH           Fon     [phone]
Efringerstrasse 79                   Fax     [phone]
CH-4057 Basel, Switzerland           Mob     [phone]
E-mail  [hidden email]    Web   http://www.lis.ch

[Shawn Galdeen]

Kris --

     Barring any success in the Physiology Department, you might also  
want to check with any C. Elegans labs at your institution.  RNAi by  
injection is a relatively common technique in these labs, and they  
often pull their own injection pipettes using a similar setup.

Best of luck,

Shawn

Shawn Galdeen, Ph.D.
Research Support Specialist
Bio-Imaging Resource Center
Rockefeller University
1230 York Ave.
New York, New York  10065
212.327.7487





Martin Wessendorf wrote:

> Dear Kris--
> Rather than try to buy what you need, you might just go over to the  
> Physiology Department in the medical school and ask who the  
> electrophysiologists are.  An electrophysiologist will have devices  
> that can pull pipettes to a wide range of diameters.  My guess is  
> that you'll want to find someone pulling patch-clamp electrodes--
> those tend to be about 1 micron--and then see what you can do by  
> manipulating the pulling parameters.  Or even easier, just take a  
> too-small pipette and bump it under microscopic control against a  
> piece of glass--you can break the tip to just about anything you need.
> Good luck!
> Martin Wessendorf
> [hidden email] wrote:
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I want to microinject human adipose stem cells with microbeads that  
>> range in size from 0.5-2.8 microns in diameter.  I am using a  
>> Narishige IM-9B microinjector.  This company does not sell pre-
>> fabricated pipettes.  Can anyone recommend a company/brand of  
>> microinjection pipettes that are useful for microinjection of  
>> microbeads?  Thanks for any advice you can offer.
>>
>> Kris Ford
>> Graduate Student
>> Biomedical Engineering
>> University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
>> Phone# [phone]

[George Ring]

Kris, Don't let Franco scare you!

Pulling pipettes is simple - it is also trial and error.  Adjusting the
heat, delay and magnetic pull strength alters the tip diameter, shape and
resistance (probably not relevant in your case).  That said, of course you
want to respect others' property like Franco said.  If this is going to be
an ongoing need, and you have access to a little bit of money, there is a
simple Narishige pipette puller available on ebay for $495:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NARISHIGE-PB-7-MICROPIPETTE-PULLER_W0QQitemZ270367377357QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item270367377357&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1240|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50#ebayphotohosting.
 If the link doesn't work, just search for "micropipette".  

The micro capillary pipettes are very cheap (perhaps $10/100).  Ask the
people in Physiology for their supplier.

Good Luck

George


George Ring, Ph.D.
Dept. of Cell and Developmental Biology
SUNY Upstate Medical University
750 E. Adams St.
Syracuse NY  13210
Tel. [phone]
FAX [phone]
email: [hidden email]





>>> On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 10:24 AM, in message <[hidden email]>,
Franco Del
Principe <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Dear Kris and Martin
>
> Martin's proposition is excellent.
>
> Electrophysiologists have the appropriate borosilicate glass and
> micropipette pullers. However, do NOT try to manipulate the parameters
> yourself!!! Always ask an experienced user to pull them for you.
>
> The puller is the electrophysiologist's sanctuary and the pipette's
> shape and properties a science of its own. You mess with it and it's
> likely you're going to be killed. More so if you break the heating
> filament... ;-)
>
> Just my 2 cents
>
> Cheers
>
> Franco
>
> Martin Wessendorf wrote:
>> Dear Kris--
>>
>> Rather than try to buy what you need, you might just go over to the
>> Physiology Department in the medical school and ask who the
>> electrophysiologists are.  An electrophysiologist will have devices that

>> can pull pipettes to a wide range of diameters.  My guess is that you'll

>> want to find someone pulling patch-clamp electrodes--those tend to be
>> about 1 micron--and then see what you can do by manipulating the pulling

>> parameters.  Or even easier, just take a too-small pipette and bump it
>> under microscopic control against a piece of glass--you can break the
>> tip to just about anything you need.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Martin Wessendorf
>>
>> [hidden email] wrote:
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> I want to microinject human adipose stem cells with microbeads that
>>> range in size from 0.5-2.8 microns in diameter.  I am using a
>>> Narishige IM-9B microinjector.  This company does not sell
>>> pre-fabricated pipettes.  Can anyone recommend a company/brand of
>>> microinjection pipettes that are useful for microinjection of
>>> microbeads?  Thanks for any advice you can offer.
>>>
>>> Kris Ford
>>> Graduate Student
>>> Biomedical Engineering
>>> University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
>>> Phone# [phone]
>>