GADGET WATCH | Golden Electroporation
Scientists in high-throughput labs are no longer limited to chemical transfection technologies; thanks to BTX, they can opt to electroporate, instead. The San Diego-based company (www.btxonline.com) recently released a 96-well, gold-plated, disposable electroporation microplate--a high-throughput alternative to single-use cuvettes. Now, rather than performing electroporation--a DNA-delivery method that introduces holes in the cells' membranes with a jolt of electricity--one sample at a time, scientists can zap eight or 96 at once. A 384-well version is slated for release later this year.
These plates are part of a product line--including software, a plate handler, and a pulse generator--unveiled at last December's American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting, but they are compatible with other manufacturers' pulse generators, too, says BTX general manager Bryan Bjorndal.
Key to the plate's usefulness, says Bjorndal, is its gold coating. Most electroporation cuvettes are plated with aluminum, which is cytotoxic. BTX's gilded ...
