TECHNICAL NOTE

APPLICATION
KNOWLEDGE

Liquid Handling with Bottle-Top Instruments:

Solutions for special applications

Introduction Bottle adapters

Bottle-top dispensers and bottle- The Dispensette®, seripettor®, and Titrette® are attached to a container of
top burettes enable liquid han- medium via a GL45 internal thread. The connection element on liquid handling
dling directly from bottles, canis- instruments is called a valve block adapter and this is firmly connected to the
ters or other containers. instruments. The GL45 thread is a common size for glass or plastic laboratory
The bottle-top concept saves time bottles from many different manufacturers. Laboratory chemical suppliers often
in the laboratory and ensures use bottles with a smaller thread diameter, such as 40 mm. Plastic canisters,
greater safety since no intermedi- on the other hand, often have threads with larger diameters, such as 50 mm or
ate steps are required. For many 60 mm. In order to attach BRAND bottle-top instruments to a variety of different
laboratory applications, bottle-top media containers, bottle adapters that adapt the GL45 thread of the instruments
instruments can be used univer- to the media container thread are required. To determine the thread size of a
sally. bottle and choose the right bottle adapter, the outer diameter of the thread (A)
In this technical note, we present and the thread pitch (B) are measured.
solutions for applications that are Another characteristic of a thread is its shape. GL-threads are round, while
particularly challenging due to the S-threads have the shape of a saw tooth. However, due to the tolerances,
media or container being used. S- and GL-threads are usually compatible with one another. Alternatively,
BRAND provides a document on its website with adapter templates.

Determining the thread size of a bottle

Author: Dr. Patrick Jost | BRAND GMBH + CO KG, Wertheim

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TECHNICAL NOTE

BRAND offers a selection of thread adapters for common

thread sizes in the laboratory. For bottle adapters with a bottle
thread diameter less than 32 mm, the bottle adapter GL 32 – 33
(Item No. 704396) must be inserted. One possible combination You can find our adapter templates
at shop.brand.de
would be Dispensette® S (valve block adapter GL45) on bottle
adapter GL 32 – 33 (Item No. 704396) on bottle adapter
GL 28/ S 28 (Item No. 704328) on a media bottle with GL 28
thread.

If there is no suitable adapter for a screw-top bottle or canister, you can use the following solution:

The bottleneck (canister opening) must have a diameter of which results from the thickness and shape of the original
at least 40 mm. A hole with a diameter of 32 mm is drilled cover, must not exceed 10 mm to ensure a secure interlock-
into the original screw cover of the container. The adapter ing of the threads. Depending on the application, the con-
GL 28 / S 28 (704328) is inserted into the hole from the bot- tact surfaces should still be sealed with a suitable material.
tom. Adapter GL 32 – 33 (704396) is screwed onto the adapter Screw the Dispensette®, seripettor® or Titrette® onto adapter
GL 28 / S 28. The distance between the knurls of the adapters, GL 32 – 33, ensuring that it fits securely.

Sealing ring
It is important to know that there is always a certain gap along no contact with the valve block of the Dispensette® or Titrette®.
the thread turns of thread connections. This is necessary This is useful, for example, when a drying tube is being used,
for minimizing the friction produced when the threads are since moisture can penetrate into the bottle along the thread
screwed together and for balancing tolerances. The sealing turns. The sealing ring also provides additional security. For
ring is used to seal the valve block of a Dispensette® or Titrette® example, when media is being transported, it can splash onto
against the upper edge of the bottleneck. Depending on the the junction between the bottleneck and the valve block
bottle, the upper edge of the bottleneck would otherwise have adapter.

Thread connections: gap between threads shown in red

Left: Dispensette® without sealing ring; right: Dispensette® with sealing ring
(shown here in red for illustration purposes)

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TECHNICAL NOTE

Drying tube
Bottle-top dispensers and bottle-top burettes come with a The drying tube must be filled with a solid reagent that is
ventilation channel, which ensures that the pressure inside the suitable for the application. Adding a bit of mineral wool into
media bottle is the same as the ambient pressure. the tube is recommended as a filter material so that the solid
If the inside of the bottle were to be hermetically sealed from material or its dust cannot enter the bottle.
the ambient atmosphere, a vacuum would be created in the
bottle as removal of the medium increases. Depending on the
vapor pressure of the medium, it would begin to evaporate
as a result. At the very least, the dispensing process would be
impaired by the vacuum in the bottle.
The drying tube is used when the medium must be protected
from the penetration of moisture or carbon dioxide from the
air. The drying tube is a plastic tube with a screwed-on elbow
piece and removable closure cap with hose nozzle.
The tube is screwed onto the valve block of the dispensette or
titrette where the ventilation channel is sealed with a perforat-
ed plug on delivery. Dispensette® with drying tube

Binding water: Binding odors:

Water content in organic solvents that increases over time The Dispensette® is a laboratory instrument and should
can have a disturbing effect on the chemical reaction or the therefore also be operated in a laboratory environment that
analytical procedure. In hygroscopic aqueous media, such as includes technical ventilation with sufficient air exchange. In
concentrated sulphuric acid, the concentration changes. practice; however, local and temporary exposure to strong
Silica gel (made from silicone dioxide) and a molecular sieve smelling compounds may occur. A drying tube filled with acti-
with pore size 4Å (made of zeolites), used individually or in vated carbon can provide relief in these situations.
combination, are a good drying agent for air since they do not
dissolve when the water content increases. Silica gel in com-
bination with a humidity indicator is also referred to as blue Venting stopper for microfilters
gel or orange gel. As the water content changes, the changing
with Luer cone:
color makes it easy for the user to tell when the drying tube
filling has expired. If you use the Dispensette® bottle-top dispenser to dispense
sterile media, for example nutrient solutions for cultivating
Binding CO2: microorganisms, the instrument should first be autoclaved.
When CO2 from the air dissolves in water, carbonic acid forms. Instructions on preparing instruments can be found in the
If the solution is a base, for example an aqueous sodium or operating manual. The venting stopper for microfilters with
potassium hydroxide solution, the CO2 is bound as a carbon- Luer cone is used to attach a microfilter over the Luer cone.
ate, which changes the content of the base via a neutralization If you use the Dispensette® bottle-top dispenser to dispense
reaction. This is particularly a problem when the base solution a sterile media, such as a nutrient solutions for cultivating
is a titration medium, since titrating a solution with an un- microorganisms, the instrument should first be autoclaved.
known content leads to erroneous results. In addition, carbon-
ates that are by comparison poorly soluble can break down in
the solution – for example in an ethanolic potassium hydroxide
solution. In turn, the precipitates then form salt crystals which
Venting stopper with Luer cone
can wear out the piston of the instruments faster and lead to
without filter attached
leaky ball valves.
To bind the CO2 from the air, granulated absorbers such as
soda lime can be used. Soda lime consists primarily of calcium
hydroxide and sodium hydroxide, with an indicator also mixed
in.
With filter attached

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TECHNICAL NOTE

Flexible discharge tubing

It should be noted that for small dispensing volumes, the

piston must be depressed gently. Otherwise, there is a risk of
over-dispensing due to the spit effect. The spit effect originates
from the principle of mass inertia: the moving mass of the
liquid to be dispensed has an inherent momentum which is
proportional to the dispensing speed. To slow this momentum,
the speed of the liquid must be reduced to zero, which occurs
at both the upper and lower stopping points of the piston
during the dispensing process. We describe the change of the
momentum over time as a force whose magnitude depends on
the acceleration – a negative sign is used when braking acceler-
ation. If the liquid is traveling at a high speed at the reversal
point of movement, and this speed is also abruptly reduced to
zero, relatively high forces are produced in the system. In other
words, you can say that the moved liquid wants to pull more
liquid from the bottle until the forces are balanced again.
On one hand, these forces opposing the moving force are the
friction forces between the liquid and the surfaces as well as
the viscosity of the medium; on the other hand, they are the
restoring forces of the valve spring in the discharge valve. If
the movement force of the liquid is too high at the movement
reversal point (minus the friction forces and viscosity) in com-
Work efficiently with flexible discharge tubing parison to the restoring force of the valve spring, the discharge
valve opens for a fraction of a second and additional liquid
flows through which is discharged as a “spit drop.” In prac-
When dispensing media with bottle-top dispensers, the sample tice, this drop increases the dispensed volume as the sample
cup is usually moved into position at the tip of the discharge container is already under the tip of the discharge cannula
cannula. In the case of small-volume sample containers, such or discharge tube at this time. Although the spit drop only
as test tubes or cuvettes, which are placed in stands for better amounts to a few microliters, it must be closely observed such
handling, it is advisable to do the opposite. This is where flexi- as during calibration.
ble discharge tubing comes in handy, as it can be moved to the Important information: the described spit effect is universal
sample container. and applicable to all dispensers on the market.

Bottle stand
It is always good practice to secure bottle-top instruments
such as the Dispensette®, seripettor®, and Titrette® from falling
over, especially when small or light bottles are being used.
The existing metal laboratory rods that are fixed to the wall
or furniture in many laboratories can be used to secure the
bottle-top instrument in addition to sleeves and clamps.
However, this solution is quite inflexible and quick reposi-
tioning of instruments requires a bit of practice – especially
if clamps are not yet installed at the new position. The bottle
stand from BRAND assists you with quick location changes.
Instruments are securely connected to a base plate via a stand
with clamp. The center of gravity is shifted downwards by
the weight of the bottle holder and the base plate increases
the standing surface. Bottle stand to protect against tipping

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TECHNICAL NOTE

Dispensette® drum extraction system

When you want to dispense media directly from drums or canisters,

you are faced with two problems:
1. This uses up a lot of space on the worktable.
2. The Dispensette® is positioned quite high above the work table,
which often makes it difficult to work ergonomically.

The Dispensette® drum extraction system provides a solution in this situation.

The Dispensette® can be attached to a laboratory rod or a metal stand, or fixed
directly to a wall or laboratory furniture with screws. These options secure the
Dispensette® in place and saves space. The media container can be placed in
a base cabinet or on the ground nearby. Media is transported via fluoropoly-
mer tubing. Changing containers is facilitated by a coupling element with ball
valve, which ensures that the medium cannot leak from the fluoropolymer Dispensette® S connected with a barrel
tubing. to a pipeline

Titrette® extraction system for Bag-in-Box packaging system

In addition to bottles, ready-for-use titration media is offered in Bag-in-

Box packaging. The advantage of Bag-in-Box packaging is that the titration
solution is protected from light and the ambient atmosphere (i.e. its oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and humidity). The packaging ensures that the content of
the titration solution does not change and thus the analysis result is not
flawed. Standard Bag-in-Box packaging systems already come with tubing
and connectors or they are sold separately by titration media manufacturers.
M6 thread connections are a common format used to connect to the adapter
of the Titrette® extraction system. The Titrette® and the adapter are then
fastened to a laboratory rod or metal stand via a fixture.

Titrette® extraction system for Bag-in-Box

packaging system
(Titripac® is a registered trademark of Merck
KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany)

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BRAND GMBH + CO KG
P.O. Box 1155 | 97861 Wertheim | Germany
T +49 9342 808 0 | F +49 9342 808 98000 | [email protected] | www.brand.de

BRAND. For lab. For life.®

BRAND®, BRAND. For lab. For life.®, Dispensette®, Titrette®, as well as the BRAND figurative mark

© 2022 BRAND GMBH + CO KG | Printed in Germany | 1222

are registered trademarks or trademarks of BRAND GMBH + CO KG, Germany. All other trademarks
mentioned or depicted here are the property of the respective owners.

Our technical literature is intended to inform and advise our customers. However, the validity of
general empirical values, and of results obtained under test conditions, for specific applications
depends on many factors beyond our control. Please appreciate, therefore, that no claims can be
derived from our advice. The user is responsible for checking the appropriateness of the product
for any particular application.
California Residents: For more information concerning California Proposition 65, please refer to
www.brand.de/calprop65.

Subject to technical modification without notice. Errors excepted.

Find accessories and replacement Further information on products

parts, user manuals, test instructions and applications can be found on our
(SOP) and product videos at YouTube channel: mylabBRAND
shop.brand.de

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