Used & Refurbished Perkin Elmer Microplate Readers

Certain PerkinElmer plate readers support luminescence assays. Luminescence detection uses a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to measure light emitted directly from the sample without an excitation source, which offers low-background detection well-suited to high-sensitivity assays.

Luminescence assays come in two formats. Flash luminescence suits fast, injection-triggered reactions such as substrate-triggered enzyme assays, where the signal decays quickly after the substrate is added. Glow luminescence produces a stable signal and supports reporter gene assays such as firefly luciferase reporters and ATP-based cell viability assays like CellTiter-Glo.

Some PerkinElmer multimode plate readers can perform both top and bottom fluorescence readings. Top reading places the detector above the plate and suits homogeneous assays, suspension cell-based protocols and FRET or fluorescence polarization measurements in solution.

Bottom reading positions the detector below the plate, which is particularly useful for adherent cell assays where cells settle and grow on the plate floor and for applications that require excitation and emission detection through the clear plate base.

Certain PerkinElmer plate readers support fluorescence detection. Fluorescence detection measures the light emitted by fluorescent molecules after excitation at a specific wavelength, which makes it a go-to method for detecting labeled targets with high sensitivity in biological samples.

Fluorescence intensity is the core fluorescence mode and suits applications such as reporter gene assays with GFP or RFP, cell viability staining and DAPI-based nuclear quantification. The filter configurations on each unit determine which specific fluorescent labels and assay formats it supports.

The measurement modes available on PerkinElmer multimode plate readers include fluorescence intensity, luminescence and absorbance. One instrument handles all three detection types. Fluorescence intensity measures the light a fluorescent molecule emits after excitation by a specific wavelength, with top and bottom reading options to suit different assay formats. 

Luminescence measures the light that a chemical or biological reaction generates without an excitation source, in either fast-decaying flash signals or stable glow signals. Absorbance measures how much light a sample absorbs at a specific wavelength, which suits colorimetric assays, ELISA readouts and nucleic acid quantification. Check each product listing or contact our professionals for more information on which models support these measurement modes.

Yes, PerkinElmer microplate readers can measure absorbance in both UV and visible ranges. UV absorbance measurements support applications like nucleic acid quantification, which is typically read at 260 nm, and protein quantification, commonly measured at 280 nm.

Visible range absorbance covers colorimetric and ELISA-based applications, where common detection wavelengths include 405, 450 and 620 nm for standard colorimetric substrates and antibody-based detection systems. The absorbance wavelengths a specific unit can measure depend on the installed filter set.