The P-2000, developed by Sutter Instruments, is a micropipette puller designed to enable the use of quartz glass in micropipette applications by utilizing a CO2 laser as a heat source. As the power of the laser output is servo-controlled, this means that the P-2000 is also suitable with other glasses that may have a lower melting point.
The wide range of materials that this device can work with, such as fused silica and other types of quartz, means that it is ideal for many novel applications not traditionally associated with micropipette techniques. Aside from the major mechanical, electrical and optical beneficial properties of quartz, it is also highly advantageous as it can create pipettes with smaller tips relative to those made using traditional glass materials.
Near-Field Optical Scanning Microscopy
The P-2000 system is perfectly designed to pull fiber optic tapers for Near-Field Optical Scanning Microscopy (NSOM). This is because it can be customized for use with small-diameter glass, termed the P-2000/F. Typical fiber tips can be pulled to any needed size between 40 to 100 nm; although much smaller fiber tips can be pulled, these are not suitable for NSOM.
Nanospray Mass Spectrometry
The P-2000/F is also useful for the new technique of nanospray mass spectrometry. For this approach, the fused silica tubes can be converted into spray nozzles. Although tip sizes must be increased, the flexibility of the P-2000 and its microprocessor control means that this can be achieved by simply selecting specific program values.
Electrode Production
Alternatively, the P-2000 can be used to produce electrodes. This is done by drawing the glass, which is usually quartz, with a small-sized fiber or wire made from an alternative substance. Carbon fibers within quartz are useful for applications like voltammetry, meanwhile platinum wires inside quartz can be used to produce ultramicroelectrodes (UME) for techniques like scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM).
Summary
“It is clearly t e instrument of choice when there is a requirement to draw glass to nanometer tip sizes, or whenever glass rods or tubes need to be tapered to tips that are in the range of nanometers to tens of microns.”
Sutter Instrument’s P-2000 has proven to be ideal for a range of existing applications; it is therefore likely that this range will further expand in the near future. For now, it is certain that this instrument is of great utility for applications with a requirement to draw glass to nanometer tip sizes, or whenever glass rods or tubes need to be tapered to tips that are in the array of nanometers to tens of microns.
Sutter Instrument
For over 45 years, Sutter Instrument has been a recognized global leader in the design, and manufacture of specialized biomedical research instrumentation essential to biomedical research and emerging analytical techniques that utilize sub-micron probes and pipettes.
With distributors in over 38 nations outside the United States, our strong customer orientation, technical expertise and commitment to quality, has helped us develop an exceptionally loyal customer base that offer insights to advancing technologies and exhibit significant repeat purchasing patterns.
The unique synergy between our product groups (microprobe fabrication, micromanipulation, imaging, and micromanipulation) affords the company an ideal position for expansion and growth, especially in the high-growth fields of neuroscience, high-speed imaging, genomics, optogenetics, drug discovery and stem-cell research.
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