Colorimetric or spectrophotometric assays are light dependent analysis that uses light of a particular wavelength to excite molecules within a coloured sample to determine the absorbance of the sample in other to extrapolate the concentration of the sample. This technique is important in determining the concentration of a sample or assay in clinical chemistry or microbiology or experimental biology.
Plate readers or microplate readers (microplate photometers) enable multiple spectrophotometric analysis relevant for determining sample optical densities (ODs), minimum inhibitory concentration and maximum inhibitory concentration relevant for antibiotics susceptibility testing (AST). On the other hand, they can be said to be foundational instruments in experimental biology and bioengineering that enable multiplexed spectrophotometric measurements.
Commercial plate readers are microplate readers that are obtained from commercial manufacturers. Usually, commercially manufactured plate readers are expensive to buy. However, open source plate readers are low-cost microplate readers built using open source software, cheap and available materials, microcomputers/micro-controllers, 3D printed parts and laser cut parts. Open source plate readers are very cheap to build but require expert knowledge and skills.
- Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Nucleic acid quantification
- High through put screening of compounds and targets in drug discovery
- Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST)
- Growth rates in batch-fed bioreactor fermentation procedure