Microtiter plate

Microtiter plate

A Microtiter plate (also known as a microplate or micro well plate) is a flat plate with multiple "wells" used as small test tubes. The microplate has become a standard tool in analytical research and clinical diagnostic testing laboratories. A very common usage is in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the basis of most modern medical diagnostic testing in humans and animals.

History

The concept of the microtiter plate was first introduced by Hungarian scientist Dr. Gyula Takátsy in the 1950s. The first microtiter plate was a 6 by 12 grid, providing 72 result reports on one plate. The standard today is an 8 by 12 grid with 96 wells, but other formats are also available, including 384-well, 576-well, and 1536-well plates.

Design and Function

Microtiter plates are typically rectangular and the dimensions of a microtiter plate have been standardized to 127.76 mm long and 85.48 mm wide (the same size as a CD case). The wells can be either round or square. The depth and width of the wells are variable and can be chosen based on the volume of solution they are intended to hold.

Microtiter plates are used in a variety of applications, including enzyme assays, cell culture, DNA extraction, protein purification, and high-throughput screening. They are designed to be compatible with automated systems and robots, and are used in large-scale studies for drug discovery.

Materials

Microtiter plates are made from a variety of materials including polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride. The choice of material depends on the application. For example, polystyrene is often used for cell culture while polypropylene is used for PCR amplification.

See Also

• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
• High-throughput screening
• Polymerase chain reaction

This laboratory related article is a stub. You can help WikiMD by expanding it.