All You Need To Know About Microplate Reader

Scientists and researchers in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry are striving to improve the efficiency of all laboratory processes and instruments. One such instrument is the microplate reader which has the most widely used application in the elisa test. The main objective of using the microplate reader is to save the time of all researchers and scientists. A typical micro plate reader can test or handle up to 3456 samples in a few minutes or seconds.  The process is very much versatile in executing the reaction samples.  It saves operational time and also saves reagent costs, which allows the researchers to dedicate more time towards the research and also helps in the generation of actionable insights out of the operations in the elisa plate reader. 

Finding a perfect microplate reader is a bit difficult for the researchers as there are many options out in the market. For finding the perfect microplate elisa reader, the researchers should know all prospects of the plate reader.  The scientific market is full of many options, some give out fewer wells and some give out more wells for settling the reaction samples.  The elisa test is executed with the help of a large number of wells in a microplate reader.  Before installing a microplate reader in the research, the researcher should know all aspects of it. 

What Is A Microplate Reader?

A microplate reader is a laboratory instrument that is implemented for measuring physical, chemical, and biological reactions within wells of a plate reader. The analytes are contained within the wells of the plate readers.  In the ELISA test also, the wells are stored with antibodies or antigens which are tested for the infectious agents. An elisa plate reader or a normal plate reader consists of many small wells which contain the reaction samples for assessments.  The plate readers, the progression of biochemical processes take place which is further converted into optical signals.  Here, the microplate reader detects these signals and finally quantifies the results.  A microplate reader is used in many tests and cancer detection.

Steps To Find The Right Microplate Reader

As there are many options in the market for microplate readers, researchers find it hard to select the right microplate reader. Some are expensive and some are less expensive. They can choose the elisa plate reader price online as well as offline medium. 

Following are the steps to  choose the right microplate reader for biological research :

1.  Determine The Required Assays Or Reactions For Microplate Reader

Whenever a plate reader is installed in the lab, the first step is to determine the assays for the instrument.  What assays should be measured by the plate reader?   This point should be considered by the researcher for using the plate reader.  To find which assays are easily executed, the researcher has to run some basic assays first to check the compatibility of the plate reader. Here, the basic assays consist of : 

• Nucleic Acid Assays
• Protein Assays
• Cell Viability Assays

For executing all the above assays, several solutions are used which are present in different quantities. The researchers or lab fellows should also consider this point before settling a microplate reader.   The detection modes and sensitivities of different reaction samples also play a great role in determining the microplate reader for the research lab.  It should be known to the researchers before settling into a microplate reader. On the contrary, in a biological lab, there are thousands of specific biological questions which has to be answered by the lab fellow.  The answers to such questions may be more cumbersome but can be achieved by the use of a microplate reader. Therefore, it is said to review your lab work from time to time for getting the perfect results and finding the right microplate reader.

2. Determining The Detection Assays For A microplate Reader

In microplate readers, different assays are detected by different methods. So, it is mandatory to check the microplate reader's detection methods.  It happens that the different detection methods can answer the same biological question.  In some commercial kits of microplate readers, the detection list is supplied. And in other microplate readers, the detection list is provided and have the following parameters :

1.  Absorbance

The absorbance in the microplate reader measures the light intensity or how much light is absorbed by the reaction within the wells. Here, absorbance happens when the biological specimens emit the absorbed light that transmits from the sample. This phenomenon is called absorbance.

In this process of microplate detection, a  light source illuminates the biological reaction specimen,  using a specific wavelength. Here the wavelength is selected by an optical filter or with a monochromator.  A  light ray detector located on the other side of the micro well in the plate measures how much of the initial light is transmitted through the biological sample.  The amount of transmitted light is typically related to the concentration of the molecule of interest present within the wells.  Several other conventional colorimetric analyses have been introduced into the wells of an elisa microplate reader to analyze the specimens correctly. It is further miniaturized to function quantitatively in the best microplate reader with performance suitable for biological research purposes.

2. Fluorescent Intensity

Fluorescence intensity has developed as an extensive way in microplate reading format over the last two decades of biological research. The range of applications of fluorescence intensity detection is much broader than the micro plate absorbance detection method.  However, the instrumentation for fluorescent detection is usually more expensive. In this type of microplate reader, the  instrumentation of fluorescent intensity consist of :

• The excitation system illuminates the sample using a specific wavelength of light. It is usually selected by an optical filter or monochromator.
• The illumination system is also there. As the light rays are transmitted through the specimen,  it emits light which is called fluorescence.
• The optical system – The emission system of the microplate reader, which collects the emitted light and separates it from the excitation light. This separation is done by using a monochromator system. It also measures the signal using a light detector, called a photomultiplier tube (PMT).

The main advantages of using fluorescence detection over microplate reader  absorbance are as follows :

• Sensitivity
• The range of applications gives the wide selection of fluorescent labels available in the plate reader.
• Calcium imaging is done with ease with the fluorescent detection

Like this, there are more detection methods used in the multimode microplate plate reader which serve different functions.

3. Selection Of Microplate Reader based on Number Of wells

There are typically three microplate readers which are as follows :

• 6 To 96 Well Plate Reader

This multimode plate reader consists of up to 96 wells that can contain reaction samples. In this,  detection is done easily. All detections can be read by having a comparative look at the wells. The readings can be made by using a microplate reader. High sensitivity and speed are high in the microplate reader.

• 384 Well Microplate Reader

The large wells accompany the reaction samples and help in the diversification of the results.

• 1536 And 3456 Well Microplate Reader

This plate format is very dense because of the large number of wells. Because of this, only low volumes of the reaction mixture can accommodate it. So, it is quite difficult to read the results.

Conclusion

Before installing a microplate reader in the biological research lab, check all aspects of it. This helps in the process of getting good results in the biological assays. For settling the elisa plate reader, the aspects are also the same.