Polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) are the standard materials used to manufacture the majority of microplates.  Polystyrene is a highy clear polymer with excellent optical properties which makes it ideal for precise optical measurements.  Polystyrene is also characterised by its ability to bind biomolecules, such as proteins, and it is therefore often used for manufacturing immunological products.  Polystyrene is suitable for work with cell cultures. Polypropylene is characterised by its excellent chemical and thermal stability.  It is the ideal polymer for storage vessels or microplates.  Polar molecules, such as proteins or DNA, are binding less to polypropylene than to polystyrene.

In addition to polystyrene and polypropylene microplates, we also offer microplates with special requirement profiles, such as the UV-Star® microplates made from different polyolefins. These polyolefins are characterised by their low level of autofluorescence, exceptionally high clarity, especially in the UV range and greater chemical stability when compared with polystyrene. 

MICROLON®, FLUOTRAC™, LUMITRAC™: MICROLON® are clear microplates for transmission measurements.  FLOUTRAC™ are black microplates for fluorescence measurements.  LUMITRAC™ are white microplates for luminescence measurements. 

MICROLON® 600, FLUOTRAC™ 600 and LUMITRAC™ 600 are high binding polystyrene surfaces that have been specifically treated to provide an increased protein binding.

MICROLON® 200, FLUOTRAC™ 200 and LUMITRAC™ 200 are medium binding polystyrene surfaces. The polystyrene surface of a medium binding microplate is more hydrophobic than the surface of a high binding microplate, and therefore tends to be more suitable for non-polar proteins and peptides.  The consistency and reproducibility of our immunology products is constantly evaluated using an ELISA. In general, high binding microplates are recommmended for ELISAs.  The protein binding to the polystyrene surface can vary greatly and depends, among other things, on properties such as charge or size.  When developing a new assay, it is therefore advisable to compare high binding and medium binding microplates in advance.