Pipette Tips And Filter Tips

Quick Answer: This listing covers plain pipette tips and filter pipette tips for air-displacement micropipettes. Filter tips contain a porous barrier in the upper end that stops aerosols and splashes reaching the pipette shaft, protecting both the pipette and the next sample.

Plain Tips or Filter Tips?

When a micropipette draws up liquid, a little aerosol can rise with the air cushion towards the nozzle. For routine buffers and dilutions this does not matter. For PCR set-up, work with cultures, radioactive or hazardous samples and volatile liquids, it can carry traces into the pipette and from there into later samples. A filter tip places a porous plug, commonly of hydrophobic polyethylene, between the liquid and the pipette to intercept those droplets.

The title lists both types under one name. It gives no volume sizes or sterility, and the listing image is not available. Filter tips are usually bought pre-sterilised in racks, while plain tips come loose in bags or racked, sterile or non-sterile; confirm which forms and sizes are supplied.

Plain tips remain the economical choice for general work and are also listed separately as micropipette tips. Racked in a pipette tips box, either kind stays clean until the pipette picks it up.

Applications

Setting up PCR reactions, where carry-over of DNA can give false positives
Pipetting bacterial cultures in microbiology practicals
Handling volatile solvents or corrosive samples that could damage the pipette piston
Routine buffer and reagent dispensing with plain tips

Specifications

Item	Disposable micropipette tips, plain and with filter
Filter	Porous barrier in the upper part of the tip (filter tips)
Material	Tips are usually polypropylene
Main use of filter tips	PCR, cultures, hazardous or volatile samples
Sizes, packaging and sterility	Confirm at enquiry

Care & Handling

Do not draw liquid up to the filter; a wetted filter can block and the sample is lost.
Keep filter tips in their closed rack until use, and shut the lid between tips.
Read the pack before autoclaving filter tips; heat can affect some filter materials, and pre-sterilised racks need no further treatment.

Why Choose LabEquip

Molecular biology and microbiology teaching labs need both kinds: plain tips for everyday dispensing and filter tips where contamination would ruin an experiment. LabEquip lists them together in its chemistry lab equipment range; tell us your volumes and pipette model through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I need filter tips rather than plain tips?

Use filter tips when aerosols could contaminate the pipette or later samples, as in PCR set-up, work with cultures or hazardous material, and volatile or corrosive liquids. Plain tips are fine for routine buffers and reagents.

Does a filter tip make pipetting more accurate?

Not in itself. Its purpose is to prevent contamination. Accuracy still depends on correct tip fit, the right volume setting, a steady technique and a calibrated micropipette.

What happens if liquid touches the filter?

Many filters are designed to slow or block flow when wetted, so the sample may be held back or lost. Keep the volume within the tip’s rated range and draw up slowly so the liquid stays below the filter.

Can filter tips be autoclaved?

They are normally supplied pre-sterilised and ready to use. Autoclaving them again can affect some filter materials, so follow the instructions on the rack or bag.

Are filter tips needed for teaching labs?

Many school and undergraduate practicals use plain tips throughout. Filter tips are worth using for PCR and microbiology exercises, where cross-contamination would give misleading results for the whole class.

Do filter tips fit the same micropipettes as plain tips?

They are made in the same fits and volume ranges, but check that the tip length and fit match your pipette model. The filter reduces the usable volume slightly, so choose a size above the volume you need.

Last Updated: September 2026