The new 405™ Touch Microplate Washer incorporates a state-of-the-art, high resolution LED backlit touch screen user interface for intuitive and flexible onboard instrument control of 96- and 384-well microplate washing. A 5.7 inch graphical color display seamlessly guides users through protocol development, instrument maintenance and daily use at the touch of a finger. Two USB flash drive ports enable convenient file transfer, storage and operation. For those who prefer computer control or require 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, the 405 Touch can be controlled with optional Liquid Handling Control™ Software.  
 
For over 27 years, BioTek has continued to advance the art of automated microplate washing, resulting in the industry leading ELx405™, which set the standard in full 96- and 384-well washing. The 405 Touch, maintains all the features of the ELx405™ Microplate Washer while adding a new, modern and powerful interface to again reshape the day-to-day routines of today’s life science laboratories. Fast and efficient vacuum filtration, high strength biomagnetic separation, patented Dual-Action™ manifolds, optimized cell washing for loosely adherent cell monolayers and patent-pending Ultrasonic Advantage™ are all available. New key features include automated internal 4-buffer switching and quick release manifolds for easy maintenance and modular use. 
 
Scientists regard unexpected clogging of manifold tubes to be the largest contributor to assay failure. BioTek’s washers with their built-in ultrasonic cleaners are the only instruments of their kind available today able to automatically prime with cleaning solution, sonicate manifold tubes to remove protein or salt crystal build up and re-prime with buffer leaving the instrument clean and ready for its next wash. Cleaning these tubes is a time consuming and labor intensive process. BioTek's Ultrasonic Advantage™ incorporates the power of ultrasonic cleaning to make the 405 Touch a self-maintaining microplate washer. 
 
For washing microsphere based assays, all 405 Touch models can be equipped with accessory modules for both vacuum filtration and biomagnetic separation. This allows for full plate washing of polystyrene and magnetic beads used in a growing number of multiplex assays and bead-based ELISAs, such as those developed on the Luminex® xMAP® technology platform. The 405 Touch’s vacuum filtration feature automates the wash steps of filter bottom plates with five different vacuum levels for optimal performance of filter pore sizes ranging from 0.45 µm to 1.2 µm. Developed with leaders in genotyping, gene expression and protein assays, the 405 Touch’s biomagnetic separation incorporates a range of immobilization options each with high-energy neodymium iron boron magnets for rapid separation of micrometer and nanometer beads with superior retention. The 405 Touch is Luminex® xMAP® approved. 
 
The 405 Touch Washer, also known as the 405 TS Series, is available in a range of configurations for different microplate formats and wash requirements. The 405 HT TS is designed specifically to rapidly wash 384-well microplates and includes BioTek's patented Dual-Action™ 192-tube manifold to ensure optimal performance. A proprietary tube-in-tube aspiration manifold design also provides complete 384-well evacuation even with buffers not containing surfactant. The 405 Select TS offers the patented Dual-Action™ manifold in a 96-tube format, providing independent control of both dispense and aspirate manifolds for precise overfill washing and overflow protection. This unique design washes both 96- and 384-well plates without the need for any hardware changes. With its angled dispense tubes, full control of dispense and aspiration rates and unique X, Y, Z positioning, the 405 Select TS is ideal for the most demanding wash requirements including loosely-adherent cell lines. For those applications that use only 96-well microplates, the standard 405 TS is an ideal choice with unique features to lower background absorbance values and increase the signal-to-noise ratio of typical ELISA assays. 
 
With its color graphical user interface and wide application range, the new 405 Touch Microplate Washer is an easy to use, total solution for 96- and 384-well plate washing in a compact and robot-compatible design.