Baby, It’s Hot Outside!

As summer temperatures continue to rise, laboratory environments can experience subtle changes that impact application accuracy and reproducibility. Even in climate-controlled labs, heat and humidity can influence liquid handling measurement variability, vacuum timing, and instrument performance.  Routine calibration, maintenance, and proper storage help ensure consistent performance. 

Heat and humidity may seem minor, but they can significantly affect laboratory results. By controlling environmental exposure and following best practices, researchers can improve accuracy, consistency, and confidence in their data year-round.

Pipetting Accuracy

Temperature changes affect air-displacement pipettes by altering air density inside the pipette. Warmer air expands, which can reduce accuracy, especially for small volumes or volatile solvents. Differences between pipette, tip, and sample temperature can also introduce error. For best results, allow all components to equilibrate to room temperature and avoid direct heat exposure.

Higher temperatures increase evaporation rates, which can change sample concentration and affect applications like PCR, chromatography, and cell culture. To reduce variability:

• Keep samples covered when possible
• Minimize bench exposure time
• Use sealing films or caps
• Prepare only needed reagent volumes

Vacuum System Performance

Heat and humidity increase vapor load in vacuum applications, leading to a reduction in  performance and introduce contamination risk. Particularly in oil-based pumps where condensed vapors degrade the oil. Using efficient condensers, cold traps, vacuum control (like VARIO technology), and chemistry-rated, oil-free diaphragm pumps helps maintain reliability. Regular preventive maintenance is important when working in hot, humid and harsh environments to ensure optimum vacuum performance. VACUUBRAND pumps are built to operate reliably in temperatures up to 104°F.