Microplate washers

It is a laboratory instrument that aspirates and dispenses liquid across the wells of a microplate to remove unbound reagents between assay steps. It uses a manifold of dispense and aspiration needles that address the plate one row or column at a time.

The name describes the function: the instrument washes the wells of a microplate by flushing them with buffer and drawing off the waste. It is the fluid-handling counterpart to a microplate reader, which detects signal rather than exchanging liquid.

A manifold lowers dispense needles into the wells to deliver wash buffer, then aspiration needles draw the liquid back out, leaving a small residual volume. An onboard or external pump drives the fluid, and programmable units repeat this cycle according to a stored wash protocol.

The listings here cover the plain microplate washer, the automated microplate washer (also called an automated plate washer), the 96-well plate washer, the ELISA plate washer, and a few microplate readers that pair washing with detection. The plain washer services one plate at a time under operator control, while automated models add onboard pumps, multiple buffer reservoirs and stored programs.

They perform the buffer flushes between steps in immunoassay and ELISA workflows, removing unbound antibody, antigen or substrate before the next incubation. They also serve high-throughput screening, antibody work and cell-based assays where repetitive buffer exchange at plate scale is needed.

Match the plate format first: a 96-well manifold and a 384-well manifold are not interchangeable because the needle pitch is fixed to the well spacing. Then weigh residual volume, dispense accuracy and the number of programmable wash cycles against your assay, and check for an adjustable aspiration height and gentle dispense mode if you run adherent cells.

A used unit is sold as it came from service, while a refurbished unit has been checked and brought back to working condition before listing. On a washer, confirm what that work covered: whether the manifold was cleaned, whether needles were replaced, and whether the fluidics were flushed.

Prices on Questpair range from EUR 77 to EUR 55.958, with the average at EUR 4.233. The spread covers the distance between a manual single-format washer and a fully automated system with integrated fluidics.

The makers that recur in these listings are BioTek, Molecular Devices, Agilent BioTek, Tecan, and BioTek Instruments, Inc. A well-represented brand gives you more reference points when comparing a model and makes the consumed parts, chiefly the dispense and aspiration needles, easier to source.

A warranty is often possible and is arranged in consultation for the specific listing. Terms are not set centrally, so check what the individual seller states for the unit you are considering.

Parts can be sourced via Questpair, and the dispense and aspiration needles are the items consumed most on any washer. These are easiest to find for the well-represented brands, since the same model appears across more than one supplier.

Lifespan depends on how the fluidics are maintained, since buffer and salt crystallise in idle lines and valves and needles clog or bend with use. A unit whose manifold is cleaned and whose lines are flushed regularly keeps running cleanly for years.

Used and refurbished washers are listed at lower prices than new ones, and the wide spread between EUR 77 and EUR 55.958 means format and automation level, not condition alone, drive where a unit lands. Where you need to weigh the two, check the individual listing and arrange warranty in consultation.

They are listed on Questpair across 17 verified suppliers and distributors in 8 countries. New, used and refurbished units appear in the same catalogue, so you can compare conditions and formats side by side.

Lead time and shipping depend on the individual listing and the supplier's location across the 8 countries represented. For a specific unit, contact Questpair and specialists respond within an hour.

Maintenance centres on the fluidics: clean the manifold, flush the fluid lines and valves to clear crystallised buffer, and check that needles are unblocked and unbent so the wash runs evenly across the plate. Confirm the plate carrier moves freely and the aspiration pump holds vacuum; Questpair does not perform servicing itself.

The listings that specify a type divide between the plain microplate washer, the automated microplate washer, the 96-well plate washer, the ELISA plate washer, and a handful of microplate readers. A single-protocol ELISA lab can take a fixed manual washer, while a high-throughput or quality-control lab running batched panels reaches for the automated 96-well unit, and a buyer wanting wash and read in one footprint looks at the reader pairings.

BioTek, Molecular Devices, Agilent BioTek, Tecan and BioTek Instruments, Inc are the names that recur across these listings. A frequently listed model is easier to compare against its siblings and against the same unit at a second supplier, and its needles are the ones most likely to be available; a rarer maker may still fit a specific format but gives you fewer price reference points.

At the low end sit basic strip or single-format manual washers that service one plate under operator control. At the high end are fully automated plate washers with multiple buffer inputs and an onboard pump, which is why the range runs from EUR 77 to EUR 55.958; automation level and plate format drive the difference more than condition does.