Tecan Spark High performance Multi-Mode Microplate Reader

Tecan Spark by Tecan, Männedorf, Switzerland, can now provide walkaway processing of up to 50 assay plates per run with the addition of the new Spark-Stack integrated microplate stacker. This versatile and field-upgradeable module is designed to reliably automate plate loading, unloading, and restacking for non-lidded SLAS-format microplates from six to 1,536 wells.

"It's a multimode microplate reader which means you can do various experiments with it. Many kinds of 96-well plates can be used but NanoQuant plates are especially useful when you measure fluorescence intensity with small volumes of 2 uL. You can also make methods for automated enzyme assays. Here's what I usually do with it: Bradford assay for protein quantification, small volume DNA or RNA quantification with NanoQuant plate, quantification of fluorescence-labeled small molecule, WST-1 assay (cytotoxicity assay, enzyme assays."

• Namjoon Park - Seoul National University

The SPARK Multimode Microplate Reader platform provides a suitable solution for any life science research or drug discovery application. This gives researchers the freedom to configure the Reader product according to their current needs and fully upgrade it to access other research technologies and capabilities in the future.

Spark Technology

High-Speed Monochromator

Full absorbance spectrum scan in less than five seconds

Spark's dedicated, patent-pending High-Speed Monochromator is designed to set new standards for absorbance measurement speed and accuracy.

Unmatched combination of wavelength accuracy and scanning speed

DNA spectrum of a 50 μg/ml sample after blank reduction; a two μl sample volume was measured in Tecan's NanoQuant Plate.[/caption] The innovative design of Spark's High-Speed Monochromator delivers an absorbance spectrum between 200-1,000 nm in just five seconds using a step size of just 1 nm, effectively eliminating the risk of sample evaporation. The spectral recording is performed with unsurpassed wavelength accuracy and reproducibility (<=0.3 nm), generating consistent data for every sample. This combination of speed, accuracy, and reproducibility makes Spark the instrument of choice for low-volume nucleic acid quantification and purity checks.

NanoQuant Plate

Calibration-free, low-volume nucleic acid quantification

The patented NanoQuant Plate was the first tool developed for absorbance-based, small-volume nucleic acid analyses in a multimode reader. It is helpful for a broad range of applications, such as DNA or RNA quantification, nucleic acid purity assessments, and determination of labeling efficiency.

Predefined methods = automated sample analysis.

SparkControl™ software offers preconfigured one-click methods for nucleic acid- and protein quantification, giving you quick, easy, and reliable results at the touch of a button.

Fluorescence – Fusion Optics

Revolutionary design offers sensitivity with flexibility

Spark's Fusion Optics represents the first optical solution to combine monochromators' flexibility with filters' sensitivity in a single fluorescence measurement.

A leap ahead of hybrid readers

Spark can be equipped with filters, Tecan's state-of-the-art QuadX Monochromators™ double monochromator system, or a combination of both. Unlike hybrid multimode readers, this concept allows users to choose between filters and monochromators for excitation and emission independently. This unique feature is available for all fluorescence-based detection modes – including standard top and bottom measurements, TRF, FRET, TR-FRET, and FP –delivering shallow detection limits and unlocking new possibilities. SparkControl software provides effortless control of the system, enabling easy selection of filters or monochromators on the fly.