Molecular Devices SpectraMax M2 User Manual page 62

A.8. Glossary
Excitation Filter
Band pass filter that reduces the amount of extraneous lamp excitation light prior to the
excitation monochromator. In endpoint reads and emission spectral scans, selection of
excitation filter is automatic. In excitation spectral scans, the user has the choice of "no
excitation filter" (for smoother scans) or "auto excitation filter" in which case there may be
slight glitches in the spectrum at the wavelengths where filter changes occur.
Excitation Spectral Scan
Measures fluorescence at a single emission wavelength across a spectrum of excitation
wavelengths. The default value reported for each well is the excitation wavelength of max-
imum fluorescence.
Fluorescence
The light emitted by certain substances resulting from the absorption of incident radia-
tion. To measure fluorescence accurately, it is necessary to reduce light scatter. The gov-
erning equation for fluorescence is:
Fluorescence = extinction coefficient concentration quantum yield excitation inten-
x x x
sity pathlength emission collection efficiency
x x
Fluorophore
A material that absorbs light energy of a characteristic wavelength, undergoes an elec-
tronic state change, and emits light of a longer wavelength.
Gain
The amount of increase in signal power expressed as the ratio of output to input.
Incubator
(In SoftMax Pro software) Choosing Incubator from the Control menu or clicking the
incubator button opens a dialog box allowing you to start or stop temperature regulation
and to select an elevated temperature for the microplate chamber.
Instrument Setup
Defines the parameters (mode, wavelengths, automatic mixing, run time, read interval,
etc.) used to read the microplate.
Kinetic
During kinetic readings, data is collected over time, with multiple readings made at regu-
lar intervals. The values calculated based on raw kinetic data are V , Time to V , and
max max
Onset Time. Kinetic readings can be single- or multiple-wavelength readings.
Luminescence
The emission of light by processes that derive energy from essentially non-thermal
changes, the motion of subatomic particles, or the excitation of an atomic system by radi-
ation.
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