Microplate Instrumentation

Microplates are plates that have from six to several hundred small wells that hold samples to be analyzed. The microplate instrumentation that goes with them make them even more useful. Among the instruments used with microplates are washers, dispensing systems, readers, incubators, and software systems to help run and keep track of the analysis. Microplate washers remove reagents from the wells of the microplate; dispensing systems add a set amount of reagent to each well; readers detect the presence of the target by one of several methods, including luminescence and fluorescence; and the software can help run the other instruments and track the results.

Applications of microplate instrumentation include:

Microbiology
Medicine
Virology
Pharmaceuticals

Considerations for purchasing microplate instrumentation

Knowing the types of analysis that need to be done is the first step in choosing microplate instrumentation. Each instrument can be purchased separately, but often you can get more than one type of instrument in one machine. Features that can vary and should be considered before you buy are the speed of the analysis, the capacity of the instrument, and the size of the instrument.

Recent updates in the market

Microplate instrumentation has been used to determine enzyme activity and gene expression in specific patients so that personalized medications and drug regimens can be created that work better within an individual's body than the traditional therapies would have worked.