The great inventions of the 20th century!

In addition to the computer, the airplane, the paper clip, the bikini and the cassette recorder there was an invention that revolutionized the world of biomedical laboratories:
At the end of 1962, the company, Eppendorf Gerätebau Netheler & Hinz GmbH, developed a small plastic container for liquids designed to hold minute quantities of physiological samples. This Eppendorf reaction tube is also called the Eppi!

The idea originated from the necessity to include appropriate consumables for automatic laboratory machines. However, the Eppendorf tube very quickly became the most important component of the Eppendorf microliter system (pipette, tip, tube, centrifuge and thermomixer). This system first was extremely popular in clinical disciplines and later also in other biological/chemical areas and today is considered to be indispensable in these fields.

 

Why is the "Eppi" so popular?

German laboratories on average consume 100-250 1.5 ml tubes each week.

There are many applications for which scientists use the Eppi, cup, microliter tube, tube or reaction tube, to name but a few of the pet names. In fact many activities in laboratories of molecular biology or biochemistry would be impossible without the microliter tube; it has become an essential part of our daily routine in the laboratory!

Take a moment to consider: How often do I use an Eppi each day? How often do I fill or withdraw samples with a pipette (by the way, the so-called air-cushion pipette is also an invention of Eppendorf)? How often do I remove the Eppi from the refrigerator or freezer, place it in a centrifuge, in the water bath, on ice or in a mixer? How many reactions do I initiate in an Eppi? How often do I inspect the contents of an Eppi, e.g., extremely small pellets. How often do I open and close the Eppi?

Without the Eppi our daily routine in the laboratory would be completely different; it has made a great contribution to the optimization of operations in the laboratory!

Thank you Eppi!!

 

Four decades of life sciences with Eppendorf tubes!!

In 1963 the Eppi was first introduced into laboratories and since then has revolutionized the daily laboratory routine by offering the possibility to handle much smaller volumes. In 2003 the Eppi celebrated its 40th birthday.

Today, scientists worldwide consume about 3 billion of these 0.5 to 2 milliliter tubes for all kinds of experiments and tests.

What is the reason for this development?
The glass test tube frequently was too large for many applications and the desire arose to work with smaller samples, e.g., blood in medical tests, but also other small, valuable samples. Therefore, more than 40 years ago Eppendorf developed this conically shaped micro test tube that was ideally suited for minimal volumes.

Furthermore, it was and today still is:

• made of polypropylene, an unbreakable plastic
• heat-resistant
• transparent
• repeated flexural strength
• free of softeners
• oxygen-tight and steam-tight
• capable of being centrifuged at high RCFs.
• resealable with high seal tightness
• puncturable for handling with minimal risk of contamination
• capable of being used in automatic machines

However, this is not the whole story. Eppendorf developed an entire microliter system:

Pipettes
Thermomixer
Centrifuges

In this way, Eppendorf revolutionized how scientists work with small volumes (liquid handling) and created a standard that to the present day is used in all research and diagnostic laboratories throughout the world.

In the meantime, a diversity of 33 (!) tubes is available in the Eppendorf catalog.

The original Eppendorf tubes are manufactured in Oldenburg (North Germany) under high-tech conditions. The nearly 80 machines run 7 days in the week, 24 hours per day under clean room conditions and with automated packaging. Today, Eppendorf manufactures about 500 million tubes annually - with an uninterrupted growth trend.