I am looking to purchase a used fluorescence microplate reader (hopefully under $1000 if possible). This assay with worms is new to me. Are there any particular makes/models that you use or suggest? Thanks for any help!
Hi,
the weather was rubbish in Austria over the last few days that I was there on holiday, so thanks for brightening up my Thursday!
For a under $1000 you get Jack…even on Ebay and even in the US the ones that do come up (and they are few and far between) will be next to useless for that kind of price.
I bought a new but fairly basic (filter discs vs. monochrom.) Biotek FLX800 for my lab a few years ago and it was around $20,000! Sure it has a shaker and incubator but compared to the models now it is in the stone age. Can’t you beg some time on another lab’s machine??? That way at least you will have access to a reasonably spec’d machine without having to sell your Grandmother into the sex trade.
Steve
I am at a primarily undergraduate institution with VERY limited funding and no other lab has this equipment. Too bad the Ebay models are crap! Thanks for your honesty before I waste my money!
Well…perhaps all is not lost, there may well be a way around your problem.
The problem with Ebay is that it’s a lottery…sometimes you get a real bargain but often the lab equipment comes without any comebacks and has problems which make it useless for research work.
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If your assay (or planned assay) allows your samples to be stored (frozen) before they are read, you could collect the samples and then take them somewhere (e.g. to a lab that does have a plate reader) and read them in one go.
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If the assay is a kinetic one or cannot be stored then you could try and arrange some time in a nearby lab. People are usually understanding and ready to help and I’m sure someone could help out.
Perhaps you might get some offers if you say where you are based (roughly) and also what assay you want to undertake?
It’s always worth a try.
Steve