Chapter 1: Introduction
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CAUTION! Use of organic solvents can cause harm to the optics in the instrument.
Extreme caution is recommended when using organic solvents. Always use a plate lid
and do not place a plate containing these materials in the microplate chamber for
prolonged periods of time. Damage caused by the use of incompatible or aggressive
solvents is NOT covered by the instrument warranty.
Microplate Controls
Microplates up to a height of 22mm can be placed in the microplate drawer of the
instrument. A camera detects the height of a microplate in the microplate drawer and
confirms that the height is consistent with the microplate type you select and that the plate
is positioned properly on the microplate drawer.
Depending on the application, the instrument can read 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, and 384-well
microplates. For micro-volume measurements, the instrument supports SpectraDrop 24-well
Micro-Volume Microplates and SpectraDrop 64-well Micro-Volume Microplates. See Set Plate
Format and Plate Type on page 72.
CAUTION! To prevent damage to the instrument, the height of the microplate must
not exceed 22mm, including the lid if the microplate is lidded.
Shake
A shake feature can be operated independently from a protocol to permit the contents of
the wells in a microplate to be mixed outside of the microplate chamber for visual inspection.
This makes it possible to do kinetic analysis of solid-phase, enzyme-mediated reactions. See
External Shake Settings on page 46.
You also define shake settings as part of each protocol. The process related to the shake
setting depends on the read mode you select. See Set Shake on page 81.
Temperature Regulation
The temperature inside the microplate chamber can be maintained at 5°C (9°F) above
ambient to 65°C (149°F). See Microplate Chamber Temperature Settings on page 48.
The temperature sensors detect the temperature of the air inside the chamber, not the
temperature of the samples in the microplate. If you use the instrument to warm the
samples, use a seal or lid on the microplate to prevent evaporation of the sample. The seal or
lid also helps to maintain a uniform temperature. It can take an hour or more for a prepared
sample to equilibrate inside the microplate chamber. You can speed up equilibration by
prewarming the sample and the assay reagents to the desired temperature before you place
the microplate in the chamber. Validate the data quality to determine whether the seal or lid
can stay on the microplate for the read.
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