FLIPRS Propel Labs Along

Molecular Devices' FLIPR384 System The accelerating pace of drug discovery has spawned an increasing need for functional assays using living cells. Automating these assays for high-throughput systems, however, has proven to be difficult. Noting that the most common biological assays employed in high-throughput settings rely on some kind of fluorescent measurement, Molecular Devices Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif., has developed an automated solution for functional whole-cell screening. Launc

Written byMichael Brush

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Molecular Devices' FLIPR³⁸⁴ System

The accelerating pace of drug discovery has spawned an increasing need for functional assays using living cells. Automating these assays for high-throughput systems, however, has proven to be difficult. Noting that the most common biological assays employed in high-throughput settings rely on some kind of fluorescent measurement, Molecular Devices Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif., has developed an automated solution for functional whole-cell screening.

Launched in 1996, the Fluorometric Imaging Plate Reader, otherwise known as the FLIPR, is a unique combination of optics, automated pipetting, and temperature control. Designed to perform high-throughput screening assays using adherent and nonadherent cells, the FLIPR is ideally suited for kinetic, cell-based assays such as measuring changes in intracellular calcium levels and membrane potential. According to Simon Pitchford, product marketing manager for cell analysis at Molecular Devices, the FLIPR technology has been well accepted by the industry. "The FLIPR was designed to fulfill ...

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