New Atmospheric Control Unit enhances cell-based microplate assays

BMG LABTECH now offers an Atmospheric Control Unit (ACU) for its latest microplate reader, the CLARIOstar®, providing an ideal “walk away” solution for any cell-based assay.

Ortenberg, September 2014 – BMG LABTECH has developed a new generation of its Atmospheric Control Unit - a complete solution to fully regulate and independently control both O2 and CO2 within the microplate reader chamber. From standard cell growth to hypoxic or cytotoxicity assays, the ACU provides the optimal environment for any live cell assay.
 
The microprocessor-controlled unit can regulate CO2 (0.1 - 20%) and O2 (0.1 – 20 %) independently, making it unnecessary to change gas cylinders or piped gas supplies to reproduce the specific physiological conditions needed for cell-based assays. In combination with CLARIOstar’s extended temperature control and three different shaking options (orbital, double orbital, and linear), the ACU is able to provide the physiological environment for any cell type, making cell-based assays more biologically relevant.
Within the German-engineered ACU, integrated gas pressure regulators allow for easy setup and independence of gas supply pressure, and eliminate the need of further pressure regulators between the ACU and the gas supply. Furthermore, integrated pressure sensors combined with an acoustic alarm allow for easy control of both gas supplies while superior valve gas control ensures minimal gas consumption. Accurate gas regulation is further guaranteed by the incorporated altitude correction feature.

The user interface is intuitive with a backlit LCD touchscreen and the possibility to define up to 10 user-presets and the display of gas concentration curves over time.

CLARIOstar’s detection modes include: Fluorescence Intensity and FRET, Time-Resolved Fluorescence (TRF) and TR-FRET, Fluorescence Polarization/Anisotropy, AlphaScreen®/AlphaLISA®, Luminescence (flash and glow) and BRET, and spectrometer-based UV/Vis absorbance. The multi-mode capabilities, together with the Atmospheric Control Unit, are especially advantageous for a variety of applications including cell viability and proliferation assays, migration and invasion studies, hypoxia, angiogenesis, ischemia/reperfusion, cytotoxicity studies, intracellular pH analysis, and viral uptake.

More information on the Atmospheric Control Unit, the CLARIOstar and other innovative microplate reading solutions are available at www.bmglabtech.com.

About BMG LABTECH – The Microplate Reader Company
BMG LABTECH is a leading global developer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality, and reliable microplate reader instrumentation. BMG LABTECH has been committed to producing microplate readers for more than twenty years. By focusing on the needs of the scientific community, the company’s microplate readers have earned the company the reputation of being a technology leader in the field. BMG LABTECH has developed a wide range of dedicated and multi-mode microplate readers for life sciences applications and high-throughput screening. All BMG LABTECH microplate readers are "Made in Germany" and are conceived, developed, assembled, and tested entirely at BMG LABTECH headquarters in Germany. Since the establishment in Offenburg, Germany, BMG LABTECH has expanded to offer a worldwide sales and support network with offices in the USA, UK, Australia, Japan and France.