1. ISO-8655:2002

2. ISO 8655: 2002 parts 1-7
A new international standard for piston operated volumetric apparatus which addresses the needs of:
Supplier’s quality control and issuance of supplier’s declarations (QC-certificates)
Test houses and after sales services
Test equipment

3. Used standards
Previously there were many national standards for pipettes:
BS 7532: 1991; British standard year 1991
ASTM E (Reapproved 1997), US- standard
NCCLS; National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, Proposed guideline
DIN 12650,1-6:1997; German standard which has 6 parts describing the type testing of a volumetric instrument
But there was no universal international standard!

4. ISO 8655:2002, parts 1-7
Terminology, general requirements and user requirements
Piston pipettes
Piston burettes
Dilutors
Dispensers
Gravimetric testing
Photometric testing (new 2006)

5. How the ISO 8655:2002 affects your work?

6. ISO 8655:2002 Supplier’s Liability
ISO 8655 defines among other things supplier’s liability
Suppliers should:
Provide list of the contents of the apparatus package
Provide information on sterilization
Provide instruction for care, cleaning and maintenance
Provide information on temperature range in which the apparatus can be used
Provide information on chemical resistance
Provide instructions for re-calibration
Provide delivery(Ex) conditions’
In addition, there are:
Requirements for marking products (both tips and pipettes)
Requirements for the features of pipettes and tips

7. ISO 8655:2002 User’s liability:
The user should establish a regular testing routine for their pipettes with regard to
accuracy requirements of the application
frequency of use
number of operations using the pipette
nature of the liquid dispensed
acceptable maximum permissible errors established by user
User should verify that the pipette is resistant to the liquid dispensed. This can be done by requesting information on chemical resistance from manufacturer or by conducting tests

8. ISO 8655:2002 Requirements for Calibration
Requirements for test equipment (test apparatus)
Requirements for test liquid
Requirements for test conditions
Requirements for test procedure (directly and indirectly):
Volumes to be tested
Number of measurements,
Weighting procedure
Evaluation: how to calculate and analyze the results
Requirements for a calibration report
Errors affecting the performance of the pipette
Terms and definitions regarding piston operated pipettes and their testing

9. ISO 8655:2002
Very important:
ISO 8655 states that the given supplier’s declaration or the certificate of conformity is valid to the COMPLETE unit, which includes the pipette and tip used, as a combination.
Please note:
Type specs of a pipette manufacturer are valid only when the original manufacturers tips are used
When other than original tips are used, then the performance level of the NEW combination must be evaluated

10. ISO 8655:2002
Every pipette distributor and pipette service company must be familiar with ISO 8655:2002 standard
The standard can be ordered from
or from your local standards association