how does a microinjector work? you fill it with oil and push the button. if someone could explain this contraption to me it would be much appreciated.
oh and details for a hydraulic micromanipulator would be great too. yes this is for a school project.
i can’t find anything online about the actual principles of operation on either. yes i am talking to myself.
Since I don’t really know what you’re talking about, I suggest you start with Google. Put in “microinjector operation”. I did and got a whole slew of hits, but I have no idea what’s relevant.
Is this due tomorrow?
yeah, i’ve been trying google but to no avail. the type of information i’m looking for is just the basic design and operation principles i.e. how does the user turning the adjustment dial and then pushing down the button get translated into fluid being expelled. i understand that there is a machine calibrated tube, but what pistons go where etc i don’t.
and yep, this is very much due tomorrow…
I don’t know how to help off the top of my head, but a search of the generally useful website How Stuff Works didn’t turn up anything that appeared immediately relevant. You might want to go and have a look for yourself, though. Could it be there under a different name?
Keep adding words to your search string, like this: “microinjector operation design”.
http://www.daca.com/products/microinjector/mipage.html
http://www.daca.com/products/mcpage.html
Download operation manual. Needs Adobe Acrobat.
http://www.daca.com/products/manuals/manual.html
http://www.ave.nikon.co.jp/inst/Biomedical/nt88ne/
Make plurals. “Microinjectors design operation”.
http://www.sdr.com.au/sutter.html
Just keep throwing words at Google and browsing the hits.
yeah i don’t think it’s at ‘how stuff works’ either. i guess people just don’t spend very much time pondering the inner workings of research lab equipment… i did find some nice hydraulics diagrams for the presentation though - provided i can explain how they fit into microinjectors by then.
DDG,
yeah i should have mentioned that i was looking for medical microinjectors… the type that a lab technician would use. i have been looking at google for many hours now, but none of the pages really describe design. i’m looking for something equivalent to a blueprint of a standard design with a description of how it works. i was hoping that some kind of microinjector expert would be pop up on the SD page.
waiting for my fairy godmother…
Sorry, babe, the Fairy Godmother went to bed. 
[sub]um, next time, start sooner?
Right.[/sub]
How about a Fairy Godfather? Microinjector here. What do you need to know?
There are many different configurations that will give you essentially the same result. Most (all) simply rely on increasing pressure in the injection capillary to expel fluid from the tip into the cell you are injecting. The capillary is attached to a tube that goes to the actual injector. My set up is an Eppendorf 5242 microinjector (put it in google) which is a computer controlled pressure regulator that increases the pressure to a pre-set level. It is totally pneumatic (has no oil) and works well. I have also used 50 ML syringes attached to the capillary with rubber tubing to perform the injections. Push the plunger and the pressure increases. Not as precise, but the user can adjust the pressure as necessary.
As far as the manipulators, I use Leitz mechanical manipulators. These are not hydraulic. They use a cam to translate a coarse movement of my hand into a fine movement under the microscope. I prefer these to the hydraulic ones I have tried.
Are you looking into this for a report on cloning, genetic engineering or somesuch? E-mail me and I will gladly answer your questions.
John
thanks for the info. i already turned in my project earlier and fabricated some design desriptions quite simillar to yours. it was for a paper on medical instrumentation. i drew micromanips/injectors- how exciting. now i have bigger fish to fry…
I guess that is par for the Fairy Godfather course. Always a day late. Sorry I didn’t see your post sooner. By the way, I am also a dollar short, so if you could spare a buck it would be appreciated.
John
Thing 1, what kind of cells do you inject, if I may ask? I used an Eppendorf 5242 to inject fibroblasts. It worked like a charm, but my company killed the project. It might be resurrected, someday. I used Eppendorfs’ “joystick” micromanipulator, and was quite happy with it.