Temperature Regulation - Molecular Devices SpectraMax ABS User Manual

SpectraMax ABS and SpectraMax ABS Plus Microplate Spectrophotometers User Guide

Temperature Regulation

When you power on the instrument the incubator is off. The temperature in the plate chamber
is ambient and isothermal.
The instrument is designed to regulate the temperature of the plate chamber from 5°C above
ambient to 45°C. The SoftMax Pro Software allows you to turn the incubator on and off to
adjust the plate chamber temperature. The temperature set point defaults to 37.0°C at start-up.
Accuracy of the temperature set point is guaranteed only if the set point is at least 5°C above
ambient. If the temperature set point is lower than the ambient temperature, the chamber
temperature remains at ambient. Temperature regulation is controlled by heaters only and,
therefore, cannot cool the temperature to a setting lower than ambient. Additionally, the
highest setting (45°C) can be achieved only if the ambient temperature is greater than 20°C.
Typically, the plate chamber reaches 37.0°C in less than 30 minutes. The plate chamber
temperature is maintained at the set point until you use the software to turn temperature
regulation off.
Should you turn the incubator back on after a momentary shutdown, allow about ten minutes
for the control algorithm to fully stabilize the plate chamber temperature.
Temperature regulation and control of the plate chamber is achieved through electric heaters,
efficient insulation, and temperature sensors. The heaters are located in the plate chamber,
which is insulated to maintain the temperature set point. The sensors are mounted inside the
chamber and measure the air temperature.
The temperature feedback closed-loop control algorithms measure the chamber air
temperature, compare it to the temperature set point, and use the difference to calculate the
regulation of the heating cycles. This technique results in accurate, precise control of the
chamber temperature with a temperature variation of the air inside the plate chamber of less
than 1.0°C. The temperature uniformity within the plate depends on its design and composition.
Note: The plate chamber temperature and cuvette chamber temperature display in the
SoftMax Pro Software.
The temperature sensors detect the temperature of the air inside the plate chamber, not the
temperature of the samples in the plate. If you use the instrument to warm the samples, use a
seal or lid on the plate to prevent evaporation of the sample. The seal or lid also helps to
maintain a uniform temperature. It can take an hour or more for a prepared sample to
equilibrate inside the plate chamber. You can speed up equilibration by pre-warming the
sample and the assay reagents to the desired temperature before you place the plate in the
chamber. Validate the data quality to determine whether the seal or lid can stay on the plate
for the read.
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