High throughput 3D cell screening with Corning® Elplasia® microplates

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High throughput 3D cell screening with Corning® Elplasia® microplates

Specialized 3D cell culture plates, such as Corning Elplasia microplates, enable highly reproducible growth of uniform 3D cultures for downstream applications. The VIAFLO 96/384 handheld electronic pipette is the perfect liquid handling solution for this and all other 3D cell screening applications. This affordable, versatile and easy to use solution has a small footprint, making it ideal for busy or crowded laboratories, and for use in a laminar flow cabinet. Interchangeable pipetting heads provide the flexibility to accommodate assays in 24 to 1536 well formats, in volume ranges from 0.5 to 1250 µl, and protocols can be preprogrammed to reduce operator error and user-to-user variability.

VIAFLO 96/384 handheld electronic pipette with Corning Elplasia Plate for 3D cell screening assays

Validated protocols

Corning has developed and validated protocols for 96 well Elplasia plates, using the VIAFLO 96/384 to perform cell seeding, media exchange and wash steps for HT-29/GFP, HepG2 and A549 cell lines. Crucially for the Elplasia workflow, the VIAFLO 96/384 is simple to program, enabling exact control of both dispense and aspiration heights and speeds to avoid damaging delicate cell spheroids, and ensuring reproducible liquid transfer into each individual well of the plate for fast, accurate and precise multichannel pipetting. Up to thousands of spheroids can be generated and cultured per plate under uniform conditions, increasing throughput at a fraction of the cost of a fully automated liquid handling robot.

Minimal spheroid loss

The validated protocols using the VIAFLO 96/384 resulted in low variability in spheroid size, with CVs of less than 10 %. Performing the multiple wash steps with the VIAFLO 96/384 minimized spheroid loss, with more than 95 % of spheroids retained within the Elplasia plate. With additional optimization and validation, the protocols can be applied to even more cell types and densities in the future.

Don’t let your budget get in the way of your 3D cell culture results

The VIAFLO 96/384 offers rapid and precise plate filling to increase throughput and meet the demands of high volume drug discovery programs – all in a compact and affordable package. It is the ideal partner for high throughput 3D cell culture applications, allowing precise compound and reagent addition, as well as rapid cell seeding, media exchange and sample transfers.

  • The VIAFLO 96/384 offers a number of advantages for 3D cell screening applications:
  • Small footprint fits perfectly into a laminar flow cabinet
  • Interchangeable pipetting heads provide the flexibility to accommodate assays in 24 to 1536 well formats, and volume ranges from 0.5 to 1250 µl.
  • Simultaneous dispensing of all channels ensures robust production of highly reproducible uniform spheroids across the entire microplate
  • Improved speed of plate filling compared to traditional, manual multichannel pipettes
  • 16 times faster filling of a 384 well spheroid plate compared to an eight channel pipette
  • Preprogrammed protocols reduce user error and user-to-user variability
  • Precise liquid handling with controllable pipetting height and speed to avoid harming delicate cells or hydrogels
  • Easy to use – no training required

Any questions? I'm happy to help!

  • Tom Bentivegna

    Product Manager

    Email