Stoelting™ Graefe Forceps

Micro tweezers come in a wide variety of tip sizes, shapes, and materials. To choose the best tweezers, keep in mind the size of the animal and/or tissue. The type of cleaning and sterilization required may affect the material of choice. For example, if autoclaving is required and users are working under a microscope on a mouse, the thinnest-tipped forceps made of stainless steel, titanium, Dumostar, INOX, and Dumoxel are good choices.

Carbon steel instruments may not be the best choice for use where there is constant exposure to water. If not handled properly, carbon steel is likely to rust if exposed to water for a length of time. Though not recommended, flash flame decontamination could be used on carbon steel tweezers because this material is less likely to be damaged by high heat. The extreme heat from flash flame decontamination changes the molecular structure of most material adversely. High heat softens metal and shortens the useful life of instruments. Consider another method of decontamination where lower heat levels can be applied to keep instruments useful for many more years.