NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (GenomeWeb News) - The American National Standards Institute has approved four new standards for microplate design that were proposed by the Society for Biomolecular Screening, the groups said yesterday.
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The approved designs, which cover the footprint, height, bottom outside flange, and well positions of 96-, 384-, and 1,536-well microplates, will govern the use of microplates used in drug discovery, according to ANSI. The group said the new standards will "result in more efficient, cost-effective early-stage drug discovery."
"Until now, if a scientist ran a screen, he or she had to program the instrument for every microplate," Carol Ann Homon, co-chair of SBS' Microplate Standards Development Committee, said in a statement, explaining that researchers had to deal with 100 "different types" of 96-well microplates, "each slightly different from the other." Now, she said, "we can be sure that if plates meet the ANSI/SBS standards, results will be consistent across platforms, and costs to laboratories will be reduced."
Christine Giordano, executive director of SBS, added that until the standards were adopted, vendors "hesitated to change" their molds. "Now buyers can begin to look for plates that meet internationally recognized standards," she said in the statement. She stressed that the standards do not apply to the plastic composition of the plates.
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The new standards can be read here.
The MSDC is now working on two additional standards, one that addresses microplate side-wall rigidity and another that addresses the "flatness" of well bottoms that are critical for use with imaging devices and other automated equipment..