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Screening and storage plates:
how to choose them?    

 

The different types of plates

 

Screening plates

The screening plates are multi-well plates where each well is used as a small test tube.    
They are ideal for absorbance, fluorescence, luminescence, and scintillation applications.    

These plates allow to :

  • test samples ;
  • determine their composition, the presence, and quantity of a substance (e.g. hormone) ;
  • study the action of a drug or the links between biological molecules (e.g. enzyme) ;
  • analyze proteins (quantity and concentration).


They are available in different types of materials: polystyrene, glass background, and colored background.    
The 96-well plates are the most widely used, but the 384-well and 1536-well plates allow complete automation and miniaturization of dosing.

 

Storage plates

Made of inert polypropylene and resistant to +121 °C, they are ideal for storage. 

   
We have a wide range of plates to meet your needs.

Contact a technical advisor!See all plates


 

How to choose your screening and storage plates?

 

Depending on your needs and applications (absorbance tests, sample recovery, ELISA tests, storage, ...), four main parameters must be taken into account when choosing your plates: type of material, well configuration (type and bottom), plate color, and type of treatment. Find below a guide to help you in your plate selection.

 

Type of material

 

POLYSTYRENE

  • Low chemical resistance
  • From weak to very strong binding capacity, depending on surface treatment
  • Rigid and transparent, excellent optical properties
  • Applications: homogeneous tests, ELISA, cell culture, fluorescence, luminescence

CYCLOOLEFINE

  • Low level of autofluorescence
  • Excellent transparency especially in the UV range
  • Good chemical resistance
  • Applications: spectroscopy, fluorescence, and confocal microscopy

POLYPROPYLENE

  • Good thermal and chemical resistance
  • Very low binding capacity
  • Flexible, translucent
  • Applications: storage, fluorescence, luminescence

GLASS BOTTOM

  • High optical quality
  • Great flatness
  • Flexible, translucent
  • Applications: spectroscopy, fluorescence, and confocal microscopy

 

 

Well configuration

 

Well type:

  • Rounded: optimal for sample retrieval, compatible with most sealing options
  • Squared: the angles prevent the capillary rise of liquids and cross-contamination between wells. Maximization of volume in SBS format

Bottom type:

  • Flat: imaging, cell culture
  • Rounded: optimal washing, mixing, base visualization, and resuspension, automatic centralization of samples
  • V: precipitation, centrifugation, collection of small volumes
  • Pyramidal conical: increases volume recovery and decreases dead volume

 

 

Plate colour

 

White :    
recommended for luminescence (e.g. luciferase); increases the signal in relation to the background noise; reflects, concentrates the signal at the detector

Transparent :    
colorimetric tests, cell culture, ELISA, absorbance tests

Translucent :    
storage

Black :    
recommended for fluorescence (e.g. GFP); low autofluorescence and diffusion of fluorescence between wells

 

 

Type of treatment

 

Untreated (or medium fixation)

  • Polystyrene is hydrophobic in nature and binds molecules in a passive way
  • Immobilization of large molecules (ex: antibodies)

High fixation

  • Fixation of medium (> 10 kD) and large molecules that possess ionic groups and/or hydrophobic regions

Non-binding

  • Minimizes binding of molecules such as DNA, RNA, peptides, and proteins
  • Reduces non-specific binding, improvement of the signal/ background noise ratio

Reinforced culture treatment

  • Reinforces the adhesion and development of cells

Standard culture treatment

  • Improves cell adhesion and protein binding to the surface

Low binding treatment

  • Treatment that minimizes cell attachment, protein uptake, enzyme activation, and cell activation
  • Non-cytotoxic

Coating

  • Treatment with collagen, Poly-D-Lysine, fibronectin

 

 

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