Reconfigurable Pipet for Customized, Cost-Effective Liquid Handling

We have developed a multichannel air displacement pipet with reconfigurable channels for nonstandard liquid handling applications. While linear multichannel pipets enable many established assays, they do not support analytical tools with customized liquid holding geometries, specifically paper based microfluidic devices. Using our pipet, complex paper based microfluidic devices can be fabricated without requiring multiple, time-consuming motions with a single-channel pipet or device designs limited to the configurations of traditional multichannel pipets. We created this tool by modifying a commercial 8-channel pipet using machined and 3D-printed components. We demonstrate the quantitative capabilities of our tool by comparing its performance to that of a calibrated, single-channel pipet in volume delivery experiments. Our reconfigurable pipet supports the advancement of custom analytical tools with nonstandard liquid handling requirements and provides an ergonomic alternative to commercial equipment for developers of paper-based devices.