Pipettor Head - Qiagen EZ2 Connect User Manual

3.3.1

Pipettor head

The pipettor head is mounted above the worktable and moves in the Z-direction (meaning up and
down) to reach the sample and reagent tubes on the worktable. The worktable itself moves in the
Y-direction (meaning front to back) so that the pipettor head is above the appropriate position in
the cartridge or tip rack during each action that is performed by the instrument.
The pipettor head contains 24 high-precision syringe pumps that are connected to tip adapters
which can be attached to filter-tips. The syringe pumps operate simultaneously and can aspirate or
dispense small volumes of liquid (20–1000 μl) through the attached filter-tips.
Another component of the pipettor head is the piercing unit that is located behind the tip adapters.
The piercing unit is a row of 24 metal spikes that puncture the foil sealing the reagent cartridges.
During operation, the piercing unit, controlled by the EZ2, opens all wells of the reagent cartridges
in a dedicated order. The pipettor head then automatically picks up filter-tips from the tip rack and
per-forms aspiration and dispensation operations at different locations on the worktable before
ejecting the tips back into the tip rack at the end of the run.
Figure 7. EZ2 pipettor head.
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