Investigating Uneven and Very Slow Microplate Evaporation Phenomena

摘要

Users in Drug Discovery and life science laboratories, occasionally report uneven and very long drying times in polypropylene microplates when dried in centrifugal vacuum evaporators. This could be due to reasons such as a faulty unit, user error or microplate contamination. This paper describes a series of tests done to identify how microplate contamination can affect the boiling point of samples thereby affecting their drying times. From these experiments we can conclude that microplates from manufacturer M1 were contaminated with a material that forms a film on the water sample surface and acts like a cap to the well, preventing or inhibiting evaporation. This film formation phenomena caused by contamination explains why some microplates exhibit uneven and abnormally long evaporation times. Our study was not to identify the nature of the contaminant. From a review of information concerning microplate production processes, the contaminant is likely to be a plasticiser, mould release agent or an anti-static agent.