Molecular Devices FLIPR Tetra, User Manual

Page: 150 / 302

Calibration and Signal Test
150 0112-0109 H
7. Enter the Plate Specifications :

Enter a Plate Name .

Select Read Plate as the Plate Type .

Type in the plate dimensions.
8. Click Finish to create a new read plate with mask.
Plate mask definition is complete when the green Assay Finished
(Unlocked) light is illuminated.
Flat Fielding
Microplate illumination during a fluorescence assay does not result in
perfectly uniform excitation distribution on the microplate surface. In
the FLIPR
®
Tetra System, light distribution is more intense in the
middle of the microplate than the edges, therefore a flat-fielding
algorithm is applied to the microplate image to compensate for
variations in light intensity across the microplate.
During luminescence assays LEDs are not used. Flat-field correction are
preset during installation and do not require any user adjustment.
Recalibrating the Optics
FLIPR
®
Tetra System identifies the serial number, wavelength range and
position of each LED bank present in the instrument. This information,
in addition to the wavelength range for the emission filters, is stored
with the system’s calibration files. Any time LEDs or emission filters are
changed in the FLIPR
®
Tetra System, you need to recalibrate the Flat-
Field Calibration files for the new LED/Filter pairs. The following
procedure steps you through the process of recalibrating the system
optics.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the recalibration
procedure, please contact Customer Service at +1-800-635-5577.
To recalibrate the optics:
1. Select the Calibration command from the Instrument menu,
or click on the Calibration button.
2. The ScreenWorks Calibration dialog appears. This dialog
includes a list of LED/Filter wavelength combinations and a list
of whether the calibration is Done or Not Done for Flat-Field
Calibration for the selected plate format.
Note: Due to the improved light tightness of the new FLIPR
®
Tetra
Systems, the background correction calibration available in the
previous versions of this software (used with black bottom plates) is
no longer required.