BioTek is pleased to announce that the popular ELx405 Microplate Washer is now available with vacuum filtration and biomagnetic separation modules to meet the growing demand for automated washing of microbead-based assays. Full 96- and 384-well microplate washing for bead-based assays, as well as standard ELISAs, is available for those who are incorporating various assay types.

The ELx405’s variable-range vacuum filtration module automates polystyrene bead washing for microplate-based assays developed with popular multiplex assay platforms along with filtration-to-waste processes. The biomagnetic separation module provides rapid and uniform separation of micrometer- and nanometer-scale magnetic beads for the newest generation of Luminex xMAP® assay platforms. Each can also be formatted to wash ELISA and cell-based assays.

Jason Greene, BioTek Product Manager, notes, “Many assays developed on the Luminex xMAP technology platform are available in polystyrene bead formats, and the trend is moving towards incorporating magnetic beads. Our engineers have created a solution for processing both bead types with optimized conditions for best performance.”

ELx405 models feature choice of keypad control or flexible Liquid Handling Control™ PC software, integration into most leading robotic systems including BioTek’s BioStack Microplate Stacker. Also available are a patented Dual-Action™ wash manifold, automated four-buffer switching, and patent-pending Ultrasonic Advantage™ for unattended wash manifold maintenance.

BioTek Instruments, Inc., headquartered in Winooski, VT, USA, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of microplate instrumentation and software. BioTek instrumentation is used to aid in the advancement of life science research, facilitate the drug discovery process and to enable cost-effective quantification of disease relevant molecules in the clinic.