Description of Microplate Types

Greiner Bio-One is a leading manufacturer of high-quality microplates for a variety of assay types and applications. With a broad range of microplates available, it is important to understand each type and determine which types of microplates are right for your application. 

Below please find an easy to use list of the varieties of microplates available by application type. 

Tissue Culture Applications

CELLSTAR® TC Microplates undergo a special physical surface treatment that make it perfect as the standard surface for the cultivation of adherent cells. 

Advanced TC Microplates can be used for fastidious, primary or sensitive cells where enhanced cell attachment is needed. 

CELLCOAT Microplates are cell culture vessels that are coated with proteins of the extracellular matrix (Collagen Type I, Fibronectin, Laminin) or synthetic proteins (Poly-D-Lysine, Poly-L-Lysine). CELLCOAT® surfaces are also highly suitable for serum-free and serum-reduced cell cultivation, promotion of cell adhesion and stressful procedures like transfection or automated washing.

CELLSTAR® Suspension Culture Microplates are well suited for suspension culture of non-adherent cells. These microplates have no surface treatment and are sterile. 

CELLSTAR® Cell-Repellent Microplates have been specifically developed to effectively prevent the attachment of semi-adherent and adherent cell lines. As the cell-repellent surface prevents cell-surface interactions, it is an ideal substrate for 3D cell culture applications such as the formation of tumor spheroids or the cultivation of stem cell aggregates. In addition, microplates with cell-repellent surface are the perfect platform for 3D hydrogel cultures and magnetic cell culturing. 

Screening Applications - Luminescence, Fluorescence, Absorbance Assays

µClear® Microplates are designed with a transparent film bottom and are ideal for colorimetric measurements down to 340 nm and for standard microscopic applications. 

UV-Star Microplates are manufactured using cycloolefin and are made for measurements in the lower UV range e.g. for the measurements of DNA or protein concentrations down to 230 nm. 

ELISA Microplates come with both medium and high binding surfaces for passive adsorption. ELISA plates are used for assays based on the immobilisation of biomolecules to the surface of microplates, polystyrene is by far the most commonly used base material.

Microscopy Applications

SensoPlate / SensoPlate Plus glass bottom microplates consist of a black pigmented polystyrene frame on to which a 175 µm thick borosilicate glass bottom is bonded. Thanks to the accurate planarity and superior optical properties, SensoPlate microplates are especially recommended for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and sophisticated microscopic applications

SCREENSTAR microplates with cycloolefin film bottom are optimised for the specialized requirements of high content screening and high resolution microscopy. 

Storage Applications

MASTERBLOCK Storage Microplates are perfect for the storage of active reagents, patient samples or biomolecules. These polypropylene storage plates are available in sizes from a 96 well plates to the 1536 well plate format and with U-and V-bottom well design. The 384 Deep Well MASTERBLOCK® extends the range of polypropylene storage plates. Its conical well shape enables precise pipetting with almost no dead volume in parallel with a maximised well volume. 

Microplate options also come in various sizes, well volumes, and well shapes including 6 well plates, 12 well plates, 24 well plates, 48 well plates, 96 well plates, 384 well plates, and 1536 well plates.