Microplate technology has thrived thanks to the desire to avoid radioactive assays and the need to measure more samples faster, at lower volumes, and in parallel.

In this Q&A, three expert end-users from three different fields discuss the data systems they use in their facilities, how easy those systems were to learn to use, and how the systems changed things in their labs.

Titrators are basic laboratory tools that add solutions of one reagent to solutions of another with varying degrees of precision. Labs employ titrators mostly in analytic mode to measure concentrations of analytes.

Every laboratory requires high-quality water. Many labs or their parent organizations maintain dedicated plants to transform municipal water into a product lab managers can trust for routine jobs.

Portable instrumentation and analyzers are a booming business if recent announcements are any guide.

As a component of a lab’s information infrastructure, ELNs help laboratories capture and manage knowledge, streamline data management, protect intellectual property (IP), and, as a central repository, foster collaboration between and among groups and locations.

Modular HPLC systems provide versatility in terms of troubleshooting and repair as well as choice of mobile phase (through the ability to swap out columns rapidly).

For companies processing hundreds or thousands of plates per day, one could build a business case for switching to an automated pipetting system on throughput alone. Robots are faster and less expensive to feed and care for than humans are.

In this Q&A, five expert end-users from both academia and industry discuss the automated liquid handling systems they use in their labs, what they are used for, and how they went about choosing the systems.

Service and maintenance for liquid handling equipment are approximately the same as for a liquid chromatography system, but the type of service differs. All vendors offer typical levels of on-site service, with premium plans including preventive maintenance visits.

Automated liquid handling (ALH) grew from the high-throughput needs of medical diagnostic labs in the late 1980s through the 1990s and then received an additional boost from genomic sequencing. As it evolved from a specialized, expert-driven instrument system to a generalized laboratory workstation, ALH has become more accessible to more workers in more labs.

Glove boxes are specialty enclosures that allow tight control over experimental conditions. Sizes range from less than five to several hundred cubic feet.

The wide variety of lab-shaker designs on the market reflects the increasing diversity of scientific experimentation. Labs now use a greater range of sample sizes than ever before, from liters to microliters.

Although flow cytometry first appeared (as fluorescence-assisted cell sorting) in the late 1970s, the last three years have seen a surge of innovation in instrumentation and applications.

As a mature market, filtration moves forward incrementally through improvements in filter media and housings.