The Different Types of Well Plates: Polypropylene and 96 Well Plates With Glass Inserts

What are the 96 deep well plate dimensions?

Chrom Tech 96 well microplates conform to the ANSI/SLAS footprint specifications, ensuring that they are compatible with all major microplate readers and automation technologies. ANSI/SLAS designates that the plate length is 127.76mm +/- 0.25mm and the plate width is 85.48mm +/- 0.25mm.

Above is a drawing of the Chrom Tech 96 Deep Well Plate 2mL.

Although the footprint has a tight tolerance, other dimensions—like height, well size/geometry, and material—can vary depending on the application. Herein, we will focus on the two materials commonly used in 96 Deep Well Plates 2mL and 96 Deep Well Plates 1mL volumes. Most economical and commonplace is the Polypropylene Deep 96 Well plate. For analytical scientists, we always recommend our mass spec quality polypropylene plates. In some assays, Polypropylene (or other plastics) cannot be used, in which case we recommend glass inserts in 96 well plates.

Chrom Tech Mass Spec Quality Polypropylene 96 Deep Well Plates 2 mL and 96 deep well plate 1 mL

Chrom Tech’s deep well polypropylene microplates are commonly used for sample storage in life science laboratories. For mass spec and other analytical techniques, an essential aspect of the manufacturing of these plates is the selection of clean, raw materials for injection molding. Polypropylene is an inert and heat-resistant material, ideal for sample storage. However, not all grades of polypropylene are the same. For example, injection molding grades of polypropylene often have high concentrations of chemicals to aid in the molding process. This allows for the rapid production of plates and lower costs but may compromise the integrity of samples or compounds which are stored in such plates for extended periods. In an LCMS lab, when extraction procedures are done in the well plate, the problem is particularly acute when solvents such as methanol or DMSO are used. These solvents tend to extract from the polypropylene base material any added extractable compounds, such as mold release agents or polymer flow improvers. 

Chrom Tech’s Mass Spec Quality Polypropylene 96 Deep Well Plates are made from virgin polypropylene without the use of mold releasing reagents and are tested for low extractables.

• Made from virgin polypropylene

• Tested for low extractables

• Tight specification levels

• No inner edges to allow for the better collection of magnetic beads

• Manufactured under DNase/ RNase free environment

• Working volumes of 350µl, 1ml, 1.6ml, and 2ml

How much volume does a 96 deep well plate hold?

96 Deep Well plates have the same ANSI/SLAS footprint, but they are available in a multitude of height and well geometry options. The different heights and geometries give the scientist various well volumes based on their methods requirements. Chrom Tech 96 deep well plates are offered in 2mL, 1mL, and 350uL. As you can see in the plate drawing below, they are all deep well plates 44.4mm overall height, but the well depth changes based on the volume of the well.

Reservoir Trays or Polypropylene Trough Plates

Chrom Tech also offers reservoir trough polypropylene plate trays that are designed for use with any robotic liquid handling system. These reservoirs offer options for a single liquid or a partitioned space for several liquids. Most working configurations are accounted for, as well as varying liquid volumes. These reservoir microplates are molded using high-quality, chemical-resistant polymers to ANSI/SLAS standard footprints, with optimized base geometries to minimize dead volumes. They are available with 1 to 24 cavities per reservoir plate, container heights between 19 and 44 mm, and clear or black lids. These reservoirs are recommended for both method scale-up and scale-down applications, as well as for creating design of experiments (DoE) arrays.

For more information on our reservoir trough plates, please reach out to our technical support staff today.

Chrom Tech’s 96 well plates with glass inserts 

Many of our customers have been using HPLC autosampler vials for many years and are looking to semi-automate their sample prep workflow and downstream analysis. Typically, they are using HPLC Vials made of glass. If they are looking to move to a 96 well plate for automation purposes but prefer to have their sample in contact with glass, we recommend a 96 well plate with glass inserts. Glass 96 well plates are also available, but we have found that it is the most economical choice to have a reusable base plate and load new glass inserts into the 96 well plate.

96 glass inserts shown in plate vial loader next to base plate. Since the replacement inserts are sold in the plate vial loader, it is a simple, single-step process to load all 96 inserts into the plate.

A customer had reached out to Chrom Tech for product recommendations so that they could semi-automate their workflow. They were anticipating a significant increase in samples coming into the lab, and they wanted to stop using vials. They wanted to switch to a 96 well plate format but were concerned, as they had an extraction step in their workflow that required significant heating. During that step, they had to minimize evaporation. We recommended our 96 well aluminum plate system with glass inserts. The aluminum base, top, and screws are re-usable, while the glass inserts are loaded for each use. The aluminum top is screwed down to apply a downward force; that way, when heating the plate, any upward pressure caused from the headspace in the inserts will not cause the silicone/PTFE matt to lift, therefore, minimizing evaporation potential. 

We recently interviewed this customer, and here is what they had to say:

“The Chrom Tech team truly is an extension of our team here at OmegaQuant Analytics. They provide a balanced approach in assisting our laboratory with superior chromatography supplies at the best prices. Chrom Tech’s response time is second to none, they carry stock of our routine supplies and are able to ship same day. Interacting with their staff makes me feel like I am getting a local experience but with all the technical expertise that comes when working with a specialist. The passion they have for customer service and providing solutions to analytical challenges is top of the line.” 

• Lindsey Marshall | Laboratory Manager | OmegaQuant Analytics