In our previous article, we covered the beginning of the Pipette. This article looks at the next noteworthy development which took place in 1958.

The Evolution of Pipettes – 1958

Heinrich Schnitger at about 38 years of age

While developing optical enzyme assays, lab researchers faced accuracy challenges while attempting to dispense microliter liquid volumes as well as handle the large volume of pipetting that was required for this task.

One of these researchers was a German medical scientist by the name of Heinrich Schnitger. By adding a spring to the piston of a tuberculin syringe that would stop on cue at a set volume level and replacing the syringe’s needle with a plastic tip, Schnitger found he could speed up liquid handling in many of his experiments. This led to the development of the first improvised piston-stroke pipette. This version of the pipette became known as the Marburg pipette and was licensed to the medical supply company Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany.