Microplates FAQ

 A: They save time and money and improve the reproducibility of experiments because of their specific design. The BioClime+™ 96 was developed to provide a simple and effective, 96-well microplate that saves eliminates edge effects and saves time and money and improves the reproducibility of experiments.

 A:  The “edge effect” is a discrepancy between the inner and outer wells (local environment), where each well has it’s own unique environment. Edge effects are commonly seen in high density formats as well volumes decrease as density increases.

Environmental edge effects can lead to variation across microplates, compromising the efficacy, reproducibility and reliability of cell-based assays. Fluctuations in environmental conditions, such as temperature and CO₂ concentration, can trigger a variety of unwanted cellular responses and result in the evaporation of culture medium from the perimeter wells. Consequently, the micro-environment of the outer wells varies considerably from that of the inner ones, altering cell viability and assays results

 A: When placed in the incubator the buffering gel absorbs heat, CO2 and the vapor pressure of water reaches equilibrium with that of the incubator atmosphere. When the incubator door is opened, or the plate is removed from the controlled environment, the Buffering Gel releases heat, water and CO2 down their respective gradients counteracting environmental changes within the microplate.

 A: The environmental buffering system is a no toxic hydrogel containing substances to enhance the absorption and release of heat and atmospheric gasses.

BioClime™+ 96 Gel microplates have a reduced surface area (half), compared to many other commercially available 96 well microplates, facilitating the use of lower reagent volumes while at the same time supporting a broad working volume of 10 – 150uL. This feature, combined with reduced evaporation due to environmental buffering, means significant savings as regards media, reagents, and valuable biological material.

A: No, you can use BioClime+™ 96 in exactly the same way as standard microplates.

A: Yes BioClime+™ 96 has been developed to improve the quality and reproducibility of live cell experiments.

A: Yes, these plates have been developed for use with microscopes and automated imaging systems. BioClime+™ 96 has been used successfully using high NA Water immersion objectives Water Objective 63x. Are BioClime™+ 96 microplates compatible with imaging instruments such as confocal microscopes and high content analysis? A;​BioClime™ + 96 Gel Microplates are made from imaging grade materials. They also possess flat well bottoms to facilitate imaging up to 40x magnification.

A: BioClime+™ 96 microplates are constructed from high quality, transparent, polystyrene and can be used for both top and bottom read over a wide range of visible light wave lengths (derived from either fluorescence or luminescence).

A: BioClime+™ 96 microplates are best stored at room temperature in dry, dark conditions. We recommend that you do not store BioClime+™ 96 in direct sunlight.

A: BioClime+™ 96 microplates can either be used directly at room temperature or pre-warmed in an incubator prior to adding cells.

A: This depends on experimental and maintenance conditions. However, we have developed BioClime+™ 96 microplates to maintain function for 28 days when maintained at 37°C 5% CO2 >95% (Relative Humidity). Obviously, the actual length of time depends on experimental and maintenance conditions.

A: Depending your experimental requirements volumes ranging from 10nl to 150µL can be used.

Vale High Performance 96-well microplates have a reduced surface area (half), compared to many other commercially available 96-well microplates, facilitating the use of lower reagent volumes while at the same time supporting a broad working volume of 10 – 150uL. This feature, combined with reduced evaporation when the inter-well spaces are filled water with results in significant savings as you use less media, reagents and valuable biological material.

Vale High Performance microplates are made from imaging grade materials. They also possess flat well bottoms to facilitate imaging up to 40x magnification.

A: BioClime+™ 96 is currently available in both tissue culture treated and low attachment surfaces.

A: BioClime+™96 cost about the same as other commercially high-performance microplates.