FireflySci 96Well Plate Now Available

We are happy to announce the launch of our new 96well plate product line.  Since a lot of machines that use cuvettes also have plate readers, we are making things more convenient for our awesome customers so you can get all your optical products in one place.  

We've zeroed in on the best type of material, well count, well shape, and well volume to offer the best all round 96well plate that will suite all your needs.

96Well Plate Material

Well plates come in a variety of different materials such as:

• Polystyrene  (Transmission= 340-900nm)
• PMMA Acrylic (Transmission= 290-900nm)
• UV Plastic (Transmission= 230-900nm)

They are the same materials that disposable cuvettes are made from and the transmission properties are also very similar. 

The type of experiment will determine which well plate material is required.  We find the most common material is Polystyrene.  Polystyrene is great for serial dilutions, precipitation assays, automated applications, and hemagglutination.

If UV work is going to be done then go with either a UV plastic plate or an Acrylic plate.  For example, DNA quantification would require a plate that can transmit in the 260 and 280 nm range, therefore a UV plastic plate is required.

96Well Plate Volume & Well Design

The FFS well plate comes with a standard well depth of 6 mm.  The edges of the well plate are optically clear as well as the wells themselves.  This gives you the benefit of being able to see the samples from the sides.

Well plates come with different shaped wells and the main ones are:

• U-shaped (flat bottom)
• V-shaped

U-shaped wells are used for optical measurements.  The bottom of the U well is perfectly flat allowing the plate reader the ability to easily measure the samples in rapid succession.  The wells are slightly rounded at the bottom corners which allows for easy stirring

V-shaped wells are used for storage since the samples can easily be retrieved from the V-shaped bottom.  Also the V-design is good for precipitation assays.

Sterile vs Non-sterile 96well plate

Sterile plates come packaged in a protective bag that keeps all types of elements such as dust and bacteria off the plate.  Once the bag is open the plate is then exposed to whatever is around the lab so be sure to take extra care if you are using sterile plates.

For most experiments a non-sterile plate will work just fine.  They don't have the super protective wrapping, but they still get the job done.

The plates offered by FireflySci are non-sterile plates, but we can make sterile plates if needed.

If you have any questions please send us an e-mail to info@fireflysci.com.

Here's to your success!

The FireflySci Team