Phosphorimager/Laser Scanner & Multi-function Plate Reader
Storm 860 Phosphorimager and 2 Color Laser Scanner
The Storm 860 uses storage phosphor screens which are sensitive to ionizing radiation but not to light. The screens are more sensitive than X-Ray film so you can get an image of your radioactive blot or gel more quickly, plus you get the quantitative data on the signal strength automatically and you can quickly and easily compare the strength of bands to each other. The storage phosphor screens are reusable and can be erased between uses by placing them on a special light box for a set period of time.
In addition to radionuclide detection, you can also obtain quantitative fluorescence intensity data for bands on a fluorescent-stained gel or blot with this instrument. It has blue and red lasers to cover most of the commonly used fluorescent dyes. One could also scan samples in a microplate or whole tissues if 50 micron resolution is sufficient to generate useful data from the particular sample.
Image data from scans can be analyzed using several different software packages, including ImageQuant TL, ImageQuant 5.x, or the free Image/J from the NIH. ImageQuantTL is licensed software from GE Healthcare and is installed on the PC which runs the Storm. ImageQuant, which is now considered obsolete, is also installed on this computer. It can be copied and run on other computers. Image/J is a Java application which can run on any computing platform that supports Java. It is available for download from the NIH web pages at: http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/
Victor3 V Plate Reader
The Perkin Elmer Victor3 V plate reader is a third generation Wallac-built plate reader from Perkin Elmer. This "V" model incorporates 5 different optical detection technologies and includes an adjustable shaker, temperature controller, and two reagent injector pumps. It can read plates from above or below, the read height can be adjusted, and plates from 1 to 1534 wells can be read. The optical detection modes are photometry (UV-Vis absorbance), luminometry, fluorescence intensity, time resolved fluorescence, and fluorescence polarization. Users are charged $7.00 for the first plate read and $0.20 per additional read during the same use, and $5.00 per hour after the first 30 minutes. Some examples of the types of assays that can be done using these detection modes are listed below.
Photometric Assays:
Absorbance of nucleic acids at 260/280nm
Protein quantitation assays
Luminometric Assays:
Luciferase assay for ATP concentration
Luciferase reporter gene activity assays
Various immunoluminometric assays for specific
proteins
Fluorimetric Assays:
Picogreen/Ribogreen assays for DNA/RNA
concentration
MUG reporter gene assays
Protein quantitation assays
Chlorophyll assays
Time Resolved Fluorescence Assays:
DELFIA binding assays
LANCE assays for various ligands
Fluorescence Polarization Assays:
Acycloprime SnP detection assays
Various macromolecule/small molecule
interaction assays
With the range of capabilities built into this multi-mode plate reader researchers can develop an almost limitless variety of new assays that can be carried out on small, medium, or high throughput scales.
(Note - the Acycloprime SnP assay kits are no longer sold as of 2009)
