| The testing of bacteriological, viral, and cell cultures | | | | is placed in the well with it. After incubating at |
| is made easier with well plates. These plates are | | | | body temperature for a set amount of time, as in |
| usually rectangular and average about 14 mm in | | | | 48 hours, each well will be measured by a |
| height. There are many holes formed in the | | | | light-absorption device that can intricately measure |
| plastic, or "wells", that are used as miniature test | | | | growth within the wells, or absence thereof. This |
| tubes. This is excellent for downsizing test space | | | | gives the result as MIC. |
| and for operating many tests at once. | | | | Black well plates are used for fluorescent |
| The plates are most commonly made of plastics, | | | | applications. Carbon black is introduced during the |
| such as polypropylene, and can be either black or | | | | production of the well plates. This gives a flat |
| white, or even clear, in color. The white plates are | | | | black surface that is non-reflective or refractive. |
| excellent for luminescent and fluorescent | | | | This is excellent for immunoassays that require |
| homogenous operations, such as enzyme-linked | | | | sensitivity of light emission, so the flat black |
| immunosorbent assay, or ELISA. The black plates | | | | surfaces of the wells do not interfere with the |
| are also used for this type of analysis, due to | | | | procedure. |
| their non-refracting surfaces. | | | | White well plates have titanium oxide introduced |
| The wells can number from six up to 384, and | | | | into the production. This gives an absolute white |
| each averages about 10 nanoliters to many | | | | surface to the inside of the wells, without |
| milliliters. The wells may be coated with reactive | | | | compromising opacity. This is excellent for ELISA |
| substances for certain types of analysis, and | | | | testing, and for homogenous fluorescent |
| some can even come with filtering membranes | | | | applications. Luminescent procedures and analysis |
| for special extraction processes. The well plates | | | | is also used with this type of well plate. |
| can be used for storage of different materials at | | | | Polypropylene and other plastics are used, but |
| varying temperatures, and some can be custom | | | | resistance to solvents and other chemicals is |
| made and vacuum-sealed until use. | | | | necessary with these well plates. There should be |
| Well plates are used in a myriad of analytical | | | | no contamination and the plates should be clean |
| processes. DNA and RNA testing, collating, and | | | | and free of production debris. If there are specific |
| identification are only one. The wells used for this | | | | testing procedures, well plates can be custom |
| purpose are specially designed against | | | | designed for whatever your laboratory needs. If |
| contamination with anything that may interfere | | | | there is a special coating required, for example, |
| with the testing procedure. These DNase-RNase | | | | for antibody testing, the well plates could be |
| free well plates are used in research and medical | | | | manufactured with this embedded or coated |
| laboratories worldwide. | | | | within the wells. |
| Another use of well plates would be MIC, or | | | | Well plates have been such a useful tool in many |
| Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, which is used to | | | | research and medical applications that they are |
| determine the best antibiotics to use for | | | | standard for any experiment or medical |
| bacteriological infection in humans. The wells are | | | | laboratory procedures. They are used in |
| filled with a pure culture of the bacteria in | | | | biochemistry, DNA testing, microbiological analysis, |
| question, and a measure concentrate of antibiotic | | | | and viral research. |