Thermo Fisher Scientific (TFS) has launched its Nunc Edge 96-well plates for cell-based assays, which are designed to enable more viable and healthy cell yields.
The Nunc Edge plates incorporate large-perimeter evaporative buffer zones that eliminate well-to-well variability, while reducing the overall plate evaporation rate to less than two per cent after seven days of incubation.
These zones enable the use of all 96 wells, reducing the edge effect commonly experienced in cell culture while maintaining data consistency throughout the plate.
A minimal volume loss of 10 per cent can concentrate media components and metabolites enough to alter cell physiology - a phenomena that is more pronounced in the outer and corner wells.
The Nunc Edge plates are said to significantly reduce its occurrence, effectively maintaining sample concentrations over long periods of incubation.
The prevention of cell death and toxicity in the plates' outer wells allows results to remain more true to the population phenotype for more efficient, high-throughput analysis.
For high-content analysis applications, the Nunc Edge plates offer outstanding flatness and superior image quality, according to the company.
In cell-based assays where multiple targets are simultaneously imaged, all the fluorescence from a single location needs to focus at the same point within the imaging system.
The flatness of the Edge Plates eliminates the occurrence of chromatic aberrations, enabling efficient automated imaging.
Varying reagent concentrations from assay washing/aspiration steps are also reduced.
Combining advanced optical properties with a low evaporation rate, the Nunc Edge plates enable researchers to obtain quality data from automated fluorescence imaging and quantitative analysis protocols.
