Molecular Devices SpectraMax Paradigm User Manual page 17

On-the-Fly Detection
With some detection cartridges, the instrument can read microplates as the microplate
drawer is moving within the chamber instead of pausing the microplate drawer to read each
well. This results in shorter read times.
There are two On-the-Fly Detection modes:
Selecting Performance results in a faster read time than not using On-the-Fly Detection,
but not as fast as the Speed mode. Performance provides considerably better results
than Speed for demanding assays.
Selecting Speed results in the fastest possible read time per microplate. However, there
is a trade-off between the data quality and read speed because each well is sampled for
shorter integration times.
The following table compares the read time for different plate types in each of the on-the-fly
detection modes. These read times do not include the time needed for the microplate
drawer to move the plate into the instrument and start the read, and then move the plate
out of the instrument, which can add approximately 25 seconds to the overall read time.
Table 1-1: Plate Read Times for On-the-Fly Detection (± 5 seconds)
Mode
Optimized for speed
Optimized for performance
Microplate Height Sensing
Microplates up to a height of 25 mm can be placed in the microplate drawer of the
instrument. A sensor detects the height of a microplate positioned in the microplate drawer
and confirms that the height is consistent with the selected microplate type and that it is
positioned properly on the microplate drawer.
CAUTION! To prevent damage to the instrument, the height of the microplate must
not exceed 25 mm, including the lid if the microplate is lidded.
5014038 E
96-well 384-well
12 seconds 25 seconds
20 seconds 40 seconds
Chapter 1: Introduction
1536-well
50 seconds
80 seconds
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