24 well plate volume Secrets




The testing of bacteriological, viral, and cell cultures is made easier with well plates. These plates are usually rectangular and average about 14 mm in height. There are many holes formed in the plastic, or "wells", that are used as miniature test tubes. This is excellent for downsizing test space and for operating many tests at once.

The plates are most commonly made of plastics, such as polypropylene, and can be either black or white, or even clear, in color. The white plates are excellent for luminescent and fluorescent homogenous operations, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA. The black plates are also used for this type of analysis, due to their non-refracting surfaces.

The wells can number from six up to 384, and each averages about 10 nanoliters to many milliliters. The wells may be coated with reactive substances for certain types of analysis, and some can even come with filtering membranes for special extraction processes. The well plates can be used for storage of different materials at varying temperatures, and some can be custom made and vacuum-sealed until use.

Well plates are used in a myriad of analytical processes. DNA and RNA testing, collating, and identification are only one. The wells used for this purpose are specially designed against contamination with anything that may interfere with the testing procedure. These DNase-RNase free well plates are used in research and medical laboratories worldwide.

Another use of well plates would be MIC, or Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, which is used to determine the best antibiotics to use for bacteriological infection in humans. The wells are filled with a pure culture of the bacteria in question, and a measure concentrate of antibiotic is placed in the well with it. After incubating at body temperature for a set amount of time, as in 48 hours, each well will be measured by a light-absorption device that can intricately measure growth within the wells, or absence thereof. This gives the result as MIC.

Black well plates are used for fluorescent applications. Carbon black is introduced during the production of the well plates. This gives a flat black surface that is non-reflective or refractive. This is excellent for immunoassays that require sensitivity of light emission, so the flat black surfaces of the wells do not interfere with the procedure.

White well plates have titanium oxide introduced into the production. This gives an absolute white surface to the inside of the wells, without compromising opacity. 24 well plate volume This is excellent for ELISA testing, and for homogenous fluorescent applications. Luminescent procedures and analysis is also used with this type of well plate.

Polypropylene and other plastics are used, but resistance to solvents and other chemicals is necessary with these well plates. There should be no contamination and the plates should be clean and free of production debris. If there are specific testing procedures, well plates can be custom designed for whatever your laboratory needs. If there is a special coating required, for example, for antibody testing, the well plates could be manufactured with this embedded or coated within the wells.

Well plates have been such a useful tool in many research and medical applications that they are standard for any experiment or medical laboratory procedures. They are used in biochemistry, DNA testing, microbiological analysis, and viral research.

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