Microplants systems

Of these, microplate assays are probably the most widely used. Screening combinatorial libraries in 96- or even 384-well microplates is time and cost efficient. Using modern robotic techniques, it is possible to perform more than 100,000 bioassays per week in a microplate system (permitting the above-described 200,000 compound library to be screened in two weeks, rather than over a century). 

Kingsley R. H. and Schilling J.-G. (1998) Plume-ridge interaction in the Easter-Salas y Gomez seamount chain-Easter microplate system Pb isotope evidence. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 24159-24177. 

Products/technologies Porvair sells the Microlute Solid Phase Extraction in a Microplate system that provides 96 solid phase extractions in one compact unit (using any brand of sorbent). It can be automated using most standard liquid handling and robotic systems. Porvair s 384-well plate is compatible with most automated liquid handling instruments, readers for EIA, fluorescence, luminescence, and scintillation assays as well as robotic-handling devices. 

The microplate model for immunoassays has been successfully adapted for electrochemical measurements, with a 96-weU screen-printed carbon microplate system [50], shown in Fig. 8. The weU bottoms form the sensing surfaces with carbon working electrodes and Ag/AgCl counter electrodes. The system employs intermittent pulse amperometry at fixed pulse potentials for detectiOTi. In this report, aflatoxin Bi was the analyte, and a spiked com matrix was chosen for examination of extraction efficiencies and matrix effects in a competitive enzyme-linked... 

Process Economics. Relative economics of various ceU culture processes depend heavily on the performance of the ceU line in a system and on the cost of raw materials, particularly the medium. Models are usuaUy developed for the various processes using productivity data obtained from smaU-scale experiments (see Pilot AND MiCROPLANTs). Often, for high value products, the process which ensures the shortest time to market may be the process of choice because of other economic criteria. This is especially tme for pharmaceuticals (qv). RehabUity concerns also often outweigh economic considerations in choosing a process for a high value product. 

TOF-SIMS has important potentials in many areas of life science, in fundamental and applied research as well as in product development and control. This holds for the characterization of biological cells and tissues, of sensor and microplate arrays, of drug delivery systems, of implants, etc. In all these areas, relevant surfaces feature a very complex composition and structure, requiring the parallel detect ion of many different molecular species as well as metal and other elements, with high sensitivity and spatial resolution requirements, which are exactly met by TOF-SIMS. 

A programmable device that accurately and precisely delivers predefined quantities of liquid to a MICROPLATE. It may be free-standing incorporated into a WORKSTATION, or part of a fully automated system. 

A very versatile piece of equipment that is affordable for individual laboratories is the microplate reader. This allows multiple samples to be analyzed at once, commonly in a 96-well format, although 384- and 1536-well formats are available. Typical measurements that can be performed include UV-Vis absorbance, fluorescence, or luminescence, allowing a range of assays to be performed, such as cell growth, enzyme kinetics, enzyme stability, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [60-62]. Functionality can be increased by the use of liquid dispensing systems or automatic plate handling. 

Cells are lysed for Firefly and Renilla luciferase assays using the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay system (Promega), following the manufacturer s instructions. We use a multimode microplate reader with automatic injectors (FLUOROstar Optima from BMG Labtech, OfFenburg, Germany) for luminescence measurements. 

The use of the 96-cells plate and microplate photometers represents a convenient and fast way of quantitative photometric analysis of reactions of the chemical tests and biotests made on the basis of paper materials. The firm microplate photometers are supplied with the necessary software and systems of scanning a plate which carry out not only one-wave, but also the multiwave photometric analysis, that will enable us to increase the accuracy of the analysis. 

Spectrophotometric plate readers Perkin-Elmer s lambda reader, an automated microprocessor-controlled, microplate reader, offers the flexibility of configuring a reliable, user-friendly, versatile system, capable of accommodating a wide variety of assays requiring calorimetric measurement on microscale (<300pl) samples. These assays include ELISA, protein determination, cytotoxicity, cytoproliferation and antibody sensitivity testing. 

Bauer B, Miller DS, Fricker G (2003) Compound prohhng for P-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier using a microplate screening system. Pharm Res 20 1170-1176... 

Early laboratory robots were unreliable, but today, these systems perform quite well. Today s robots simply move plates from one robot-friendly position to another, such as the entrance pad of a plate reader. These simplified movements combined with the low weight of a plate allow engineering to simplify the robot designs. As seen in industrial application of robots, robots that are defined and used for a specific application will work day in and day out quite well. It is always best to keep the automation as simple as possible to get the highest level of performance. This is usually accomplished by minimizing the number of moveable parts associated with the automation. Stackers have also become more reliable. This was due, in part, to the standardization of the microplate by an effort of the Society for Biomolecular Screening (Danbury, CT, U.S.A.) in association with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, Washington, DC, U.S.A.), but also due to the use of simpler stacker mechanisms. Today, there are many choices for devices, workstations, and fully automated systems. The selection as to which automated devices to purchase for HTS should be driven by a clear set of specifications that define the use of the automation. The choices can be expensive, and therefore, replacement may not be possible, so it is important to choose well. 

An often-noted paradox in HTS is that as microplate wells and assay volumes have become smaller, automated systems to accommodate them have grown ever larger. This truth raises an important point Because HTS is not a bottleneck in the drug-discovery... 

Figure 3 (A) Robot system for lipofection screening (A) Worktable with racks for microplates, buffer reservoirs, plastic, and glass vials. (B) Four tip liquid handling arm. (C) Gripper for transport of microplates and glass test tubes. (D) High power water bath sonicator. ( ) Nitrogen evaporator. (F) Microplate washer. (G) Absorbance reader. (H) Luminescence reader. (/) Transparent hood. (/) CO2 incubator with pneumatic door (from the rear, front view in B). (B) Self-constructed robotic conveyor for the transport of cell culture plates from the incubator to the worktable.

Xanthon (now defunct) planned to introduce a disposable 96-well microplate microelectrode system known as the X AS (Xanthon Xpression Analysis System) for use in high-throughput nucleic acid assays using robotic... 

This author and coworkers at Beckman Coulter first described the use of a low form 96-well plastic microplate for automated micro-ELISA immunoassays (Matson et al., 2001). The polypropylene plate was first modified by a radiofrequency plasma amination process (Matson et al., 1995) followed by conversion to an acyl fluoride surface chemistry for rapid covalent attachment of biomolecules. Proteins (1 to 2 mg/mL) were prepared in 50 mM carbonate buffer, pH 9, containing 4% sodium sulfate (to improve spot uniformity) and printed using a conventional arrayer system. Approximately 200-pL droplets of monoclonal antibodies (anti-cytokine) were deposited into the bottom of the microwells using a Cartesian PS7200 system equipped... 

Addition of reagents to more than four 384-well plates is greatly expedited by the use of a semi-automated liquid-dispensing system such as the MicroFill Microplate Dispenser (BioTek Winooski, VT). 

---