The VERSAmax Microplate reader is a product of Molecular Devices, a supplier of Instrument Systems for Life Science Research. A microplate reader is essentially a multicuvette spectrophotometer in the fact that it uses light absorbance to measure the turbidity of a solution. It measures the Absorbance or Optical Density (OD) of each of the microplate's 96 wells (12 columns x 8 rows) by passing a set of narrowly focused light beams simultaneously through the wells in each column (See Below). The amount of light absorbed by the wells' contents is measured by a corresponding set of photodetectors situated beneath the microplate. A microprocessor then calculates the optical density of each well. A dynamic graphic illustrating this process can be viewed here: View Graphic Display
The VERSAmax Microplate Reader is capable of generating wavelengths from between 340nm and 850 nm and can take OD measurements at a single point in time or at specified intervals over a specified period of time. It is also capable of incubating the microplate samples above ambient temperature, if so required. To permit the analysis of enzymatic and solid-phase reactions, the instrument can be programmed to mix the well contents before each reading.
SOFTmax PRO is a Windows based software program that allows the user to communicate with the microplate reader.
The three major functions of SOFTmax Pro are:
- Instrument Control - The instrument settings for each experiment are defined within and controlled by the software.
- Data Collection - SOFTmax PRO collects and records all of the data generated by the microplate reader.
- Data Analysis and Plotting - SOFTmax PRO is equipped with built in formulas that can be used to
calculate pre-defined parameters.
