StepMate Stepper

StepMate Stepper

PRIMARY CLINICAL & DIAGNOSTIC USES

1. Positive Displacement for Difficult Liquids
Primary Use: Provides a manual, positive-displacement repeating pipette with a mechanical stepped volume control mechanism, used for the accurate and reproducible dispensing of high viscosity, high density, and high vapor pressure liquids including glycerol, Tween detergents, concentrated acids, and volatile organic solvents without the volume errors common in air-displacement pipettes.

How it helps: For the molecular biologist and formulation chemist, the StepMate’s positive displacement piston moves directly inside the disposable syringe tip, eliminating the air gap that causes volume inaccuracy with viscous or volatile fluids. This design delivers systematic error as low as ±0.2% and random error (CV) as low as ≤0.2% at higher volumes, far exceeding the performance of standard air-displacement pipettes for difficult liquids. For the patient receiving pharmaceutical formulations or diagnostic test results, this accuracy ensures that critical reagents such as enzyme concentrates or volatile solvents are delivered exactly as specified, directly supporting batch consistency and test reliability.

2. Multi-Step Reagent Dispensing Without Refilling
Primary Use: Enables up to 48 successive dispensing steps from a single syringe fill, with five easy-to-select dial settings that control dispensing volume, used for distributing master mixes, buffers, or detection reagents across multi-well plates or reaction tube racks in high-throughput workflows.

How it helps: For the high-throughput laboratory technician and clinical research associate, the StepMate’s ability to dispense 48 times without refilling dramatically reduces workflow interruptions and repetitive strain injuries. The intuitive volume locking system prevents accidental volume changes during operation. For the patient, reduced handling steps and consistent reagent distribution across all wells of a 96-well plate minimize well-to-well variability, supporting reproducible results in infectious disease testing, genetic screening, and oncology biomarker detection.

3. Autoclavable Contamination Control for Aseptic Work
Primary Use: The entire instrument is constructed from chemically resistant polymers and is fully autoclavable without disassembly at 121°C for 20 minutes, and is compatible with sterile, individually wrapped dispenser tips certified free of DNA, RNase, and endotoxins.

How it helps: For the cell culture specialist and pharmaceutical quality control scientist, the ability to autoclave the complete unit without disassembly eliminates the risk of cross-contamination between sensitive cell lines or sterile reagents. The robust, corrosion-resistant materials withstand repeated autoclaving cycles without degradation. For the patient receiving cell-based therapies or sterile injectable drugs, rigorous sterilization of dispensing equipment ensures that therapeutic products are not adulterated by contaminants, maintaining the safety and integrity of the final product.

4. Single-Handed Ergonomic Operation to Minimize Fatigue
Primary Use: The pipette features a lightweight, slim body (0.5 kg), a smooth filling slide bar, a durable tip stop lever, and an ergonomic grip designed for both right-handed and left-handed single-handed operation without hand switching.

How it helps: For the laboratory staff member performing hundreds of repeat dispensing steps daily, the ergonomic lightweight design and low-force filling mechanism reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI) and hand fatigue. The ambidextrous operation allows comfortable use by all staff regardless of handedness. For the patient, this fatigue-preventing design contributes to consistent, error-free sample handling throughout long shifts, supporting day-to-day reproducibility of diagnostic tests and clinical research results.

SECONDARY & SUPPORTIVE USES

1. ELISA and immunoassay plate loading: Dispenses antibodies, wash buffers, and substrates across 96-well plates with uniform distribution, with up to 48 consistent aliquots per fill, ensuring reproducible immunoassay results.

2. qPCR and PCR master mix distribution: Delivers precise volumes of master mix, primers, probes, and templates into 96-well or 384-well reaction plates without cross-contamination, supporting accurate gene expression and pathogen detection.

3. Cell culture media and supplement addition: Dispenses sterile media, serum, antibiotics, and growth factors into culture flasks or multi-well plates for cell propagation experiments under aseptic conditions.

4. Enzymatic assay preparation: Delivers enzyme solutions, cofactors, substrates, and stop solutions for kinetic and endpoint assays requiring precise, repetitive addition with minimal variability.

5. Protein quantification assays: Adds Bradford, BCA, or Lowry reagents into standard cuvettes or microplates with exceptional volume accuracy for protein concentration determination in research and QC labs.

6. DNA and RNA extraction workflows: Dispenses binding buffers, wash buffers, and elution solutions into spin columns or magnetic bead-based purification systems, ensuring consistent nucleic acid yields.

7. Pharmaceutical quality control: Delivers test solutions, dissolution media, and QC samples during drug product analysis where consistent volume delivery is mandatory for regulatory compliance.

8. Clinical chemistry reagent preparation: Dispenses calibrators, controls, and reagents for routine chemistry panels and metabolite analysis on benchtop clinical analyzers.

9. Blood bank and transfusion medicine: Dispenses red blood cell suspensions, antisera, and reagent red cells for ABO/Rh typing and compatibility testing with high reproducibility.

10. Food and beverage safety testing: Prepares food homogenates, enrichment broths, and PCR reagents for pathogen detection such as Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli O157:H7.

11. Environmental monitoring: Dispenses water, soil extract, and wastewater samples for microbial analysis, coliform testing, and water quality monitoring in public health laboratories.

12. Forensic DNA analysis: Loads PCR products and DNA extracts for STR analysis in forensic casework, where microliter precision and contamination control are critical for evidence integrity.

13. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation: Dispenses adapters, indexes, and master mixes where even small volume errors can significantly affect library quality and sequencing results.

14. Drug discovery and high-throughput screening: Dispenses compounds, cells, and assay reagents into 96-well and 384-well plates for pharmaceutical research and screening campaigns.

15. Academic research and teaching labs: Serves as an intuitive, durable teaching tool for students learning precise repetitive liquid handling techniques in laboratory courses.