ELx405 Microplate Washer

Liquid Handling > Microplate Washers

Overview:

Over the last 20 years, BioTek has become the leader in microplate washing. This proven expertise in the design and manufacture of the highest quality microplate washers has evolved into the ELx405™ Microplate Washer. Precise, fast and easy to use -- the ELx405 includes a variety of models, each with its own innovative features.

To meet the ever growing demand for automated washing of microsphere based assays, the industry leading ELx405 Microplate Washer is now available with modules for both vacuum filtration and biomagnetic separation. BioTek's latest ELx405 enhancements offer full plate washing of polystyrene and magnetic microspheres used in a growing number of multiplex assays and bead-based ELISAs, such as those developed on the Luminex xMAP® technology platform. An available vacuum filtration feature automates the wash steps of filter bottom plates with four adjustable vacuum levels for optical performance with filter pore sizes ranging from 0.45 µm to 1.2 µm. Developed with leaders in genotyping, gene expression and protein assays, the ELx405's biomagnetic separation incorporates high-energy neodymium iron boron magnets for rapid separation of micrometer and nanometer beads with superior retention.

The ELx405 HT is designed specifically to rapidly wash 384-well microplates and includes BioTek's patented Dual-Action™ manifold to ensure optimal performance and easy maintenance.

The ELx405 Select is the market leader in 384-/96-well washing. The Select also has our patented Dual-Action™ manifold, providing independent control of both dispense and aspirate manifolds for precise overfill washing and overflow protection in both 384- and 96-well microplates. This unique design washes both 384- and 96-well plates without the need for any hardware changes. With its angled dispense tubes, full control of dispense and aspiration rates and unique X, Y, Z positioning, the ELx405 Select is ideal for the most demanding wash requirements. The ELx405 Select CW is specially designed to accommodate loosely-adherent cell lines.

For those applications that use only 96-well microplates, the standard ELx405 Microplate Washer is an ideal choice for performance and value! The ELx405 is the most precise and reliable washer available. Many unique features lower background absorbance values and increase the signal-to-noise ratio of typical ELISA assays.

The ELx405's patent pending Ultrasonic Advantage™ offers effortless washer manifold maintenance. Scientists regard unexpected clogging of manifold tubes to be the largest contributor to assay failure. Cleaning these tubes is a time consuming and labor intensive process. BioTek's Ultrasonic Advantage™ incorporates the power of ultrasonic cleaning to make the ELx405 the first self-maintaining microplate washer. BioTek's Liquid Handling Control Software provides full PC control of the ELx405 in a familiar Microsoft Windows® environment, while its intuitive StepWise™ protocol creation makes LHC Software easy to use even for novice users.

A total solution, the ELx405 offers 384- and 96-well plate washing for multiplex bead assays, ELISAs and cellular assays along with filtration-to-waste processes... all together in a single, robot-compatible design.

US Federal Government customers:This product is available on GSA contract. Contact BioTek Customer Care with questions or submit a Quote Request Form to receive pricing and information on specific models (please note 'GSA Contract' in the Comments field).

Features:

Hardware:

Accommodates 384- and 96-well microplates
Polystyrene and magnetic bead assays along with standard ELISAs
Patented Dual-Action™ manifold on the ELx405™ HT and ELx405™ Select provides independent control of the aspirate and dispense manifolds for precise overfill washing and overflow protection
Internal positive displacement pump eliminates the use of troublesome pressure delivery systems and allows the use of any size dispense reservoir
Built-in priming trough allows automatic manifold priming and rinsing during both operation and maintenance modes and eliminates the need for blank plates when used in automated robotic systems
Fully variable dispense volumes, flow, and aspiration rates provide total control of the washing cycles from a gentle cell-washing application to vigorous wash for high-binding assays
Built-in fluid flow, fluid detection, and vacuum sensing provide complete protection for unattended operation
Optional external valve module connects four reagent bottles with automatic switching between reagents
BioStack compatible for automated washing of up to 50 standard height microplates

Patented Dual-Action™ manifold design for 384- and 96-well plates.

Software:

75 programs
Link up to 10 programs (if valve module is attached, links multiple buffers automatically)
Pre/AutoPrime
10 cycles/wash
Crosswise aspiration
Fully programmable:
- dispense height
- aspiration height
- aspiration delay
- soak
- shake
- aspiration rate
- horizontal aspirate and dispense position
External programming/downloading available through RS-232 port

Models:

Model	Part #	384-/96- well	384-well	96-well	Cell Washing	Buffer Switching	Ultrasonic	Biomagnetic Separation	Vacuum Filtration
ELX405™ HT	ELX405HT		•
	ELX405HTM		•					•
	ELX405HTMF		•					•	•
	ELX405HTS		•				•
	ELX405HTV		•			•
	ELX405HTVS		•			•	•
	ELX405HT2	•
	ELX405HT2S	•					•
	ELX405HTV2	•				•
	ELX405HTV2S	•				•	•
	ELX405HTV2SM	•				•	•	•
ELx405™ Select	ELX405U	•
	ELX405UM	•						•
	ELX405UMF	•						•	•
	ELX405UV	•				•
	ELX405US	•					•
	ELX405UVS	•				•	•
	ELX405UCW	•			•
	ELX405UCWS	•			•		•
	ELX405UCWSMF	•			•		•	•	•
	ELX405UCWVS	•			•	•	•
	ELX405UCWVSM	•			•	•	•	•

ELx405™	ELX405R			•
	ELX405RM			•				•
	ELX405RMF			•				•	•
	ELX405RS			•			•
	ELX405RSM			•			•	•
	ELX405RSMF			•			•	•	•
	ELX405VR			•		•
	ELX405VRS			•		•	•
	ELX405VRSM			•		•	•	•

ELx405™ 384-/96-well Microplate Washer Configurations
	Feature	Design
HT	Faster 384-well microplate washing	192-tube (16 x 12) manifold Dual-Action™
M	Biomagnetic Separation (Magnetic beads)
F	Vacuum Filtration (Polystyrene Beads)
S	Ultrasonic Advantage™	Built-in ultrasonic cleaner for manifold self-maintenace
V	Automatic 4-Buffer Switching
2	384-/96-well microplate washing	Interchangeable 96-tube (384-/96- well washing) and 192-tube (faster 384-well washing) manifolds Dual-Action™
U	384-/96-well microplate washing	96-tube (8 x 12) manifold Dual-Action™
CW	Optimized cell washing for loosely adherent monolayers
R	96-well microplate washing	96-tube (8 x 12) manifold

Specifications:

General
Assays	Magnetic bead, polystyrene bead (model dependent) Multiplex assays Bead-based ELISA ELISA Cell-based assays (model dependent) Filtration-to-waste processes (model dependent)
Separation	Biomagnetic separation, vacuum filtration (model dependent)
Microplate Types	384- and 96-well (model dependent) Standard height and low profile Solid and filter bottom (model dependent) Filter pore sizes 0.45 µM to 1.2 µM
Shaking	Programmable in minutes and seconds, up to 60 minutes Intensities – slow, medium, fast or variable
Soak Time	Programmable in minutes and seconds, up to 60 minutes
Magnet	High strength 96- and 384-well formats Choice of two designs, custom for BioTek microplate washers: Flat Flat-bottom well - beads pulled to band across well bottom Round-bottom well - beads pulled to button at well bottom Ring - beads pulled to 4-zone ring at well bottom Incorporated into carrier, removable for non-magnetic washing
Safety/Convenience/Maintenace	Waste and vacuum sensing, fluid and flow detection Aerosol cover Adjustment utility for plate positioning Overflow protection Pre-programmed maintenance routines
Automation	BioStack™ Microplate Stacker - up to 50 plates (optional) Except filter bottom plates BioStack Twister II Microplate Handler - up to 320 plates (optional)
Onboard Software	2 x 24 character LCD display 25 alphanumeric soft keys Create, edit or run multiple protocols
PC Software	Liquid Handling Control™, for PC wash protocol programming and execution (optional) ELx405 Interface Software, for use with LHC or robotic system integration (optional)
Operating Temperature	15°C to 30°C (59°F to 86°F)
Humidity	10% to 85%, non-condensing
Electrical	Compatible with 100 to 240 V~ ± 10% @ 50-60 Hz
Washing
Manifold Type	384-/96-well washing: Dual-Action™ 96-tube (8 X 12) manifold 384-well washing: Dual-Action™ 192-tube (16 x 12) manifold 96-well washing: 96-tube (8 X 12) manifold
Washing Speed	Solid bottom plates 1 asp. / disp. cycle, 400 µL/well, 384 wells, 192-tube manifold, final aspirate: < 20 seconds 3 asp. / disp. cycles, 100 µL/well, 384 wells, 96-tube manifold, final aspirate: < 80 seconds 3 asp. / disp. cycles, 300 µL/well, 96 wells, 96-tube manifold, final aspirate: < 30 seconds Filter bottom plates: Variable, based on wash parameters
Fluid Delivery	Internal positive displacement pump
Vacuum Filtration	Selectable vacuum levels: 0.45 µM 96-well plate: Lowest: -111 mmHg Low: -200 mmHg Medium: -405 mmHg High: -561 mmHg 0.45 µM 384-well plate: Lowest: -108 mmHg Low: -196 mmHg Medium: -371 mmHg High: -563 mmHg 1.2 µM 96-well plate: Lowest: -117 mmHg Low: -203 mmHg Medium: -409 mmHg High: -550 mmHg 1.2 µM 384-well plate: Lowest: -117 mmHg Low: -198 mmHg Medium: -387 mmHg High: -450 mmHg Vacuum filtration time range: 5 to 999 seconds
Volume Range	25 - 3000 µL/well (model dependent) Selectable in 1 µL increments
Buffer Selection	Automatic switching for up to 4 wash buffers (model dependent)
Flow Rates	1 - 11 Includes low flow, cell wash rates (model dependent)
Wash Cycles	1 - 10
Dispense Precision	≤ 3% CV (model dependent)
Residual Volume	Solid Bottom Plates ≤ 2 µL/well Filter Bottom Plates 96-well: Average increase weight of plate ≤ 1.2 g after dispensing 300 µL to 0.45 µm plate, filtration 30 seconds, low vacuum, blotted 384-well: Average increase weight of plate ≤ 4.0 g after dispensing 80 µL to 1.2 µm plate, filtration 10 seconds, low vacuum, blotted
Sterilization	Chemical: 70% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution
Ultrasonic Cleaning	Built-in ultrasonic bath for protein and salt crystal buildup Programmable in hours and minutes, up to 60 minutes (model dependent)
Supply Bottle Volume	4 L or 10 L (optional)
Physical Characteristics
Dimensions	Depth: 17" (43.2 cm) Width: 14" (35.6 cm) Height: 10" (25.4 cm)
Weight	30 lbs (13.5 kg)
Regulatory
Regulatory	All BioTek microplate instrumentation is CE and ETL marked.