How Microplate Washers Improve Lab Efficiency: What The Data Actually Shows

  There is a version of lab efficiency improvement that involves buying faster instruments, adding automation, or hiring more staff. And then there is the version that involves looking carefully at the slowest, most error-prone step in your existing workflow and replacing it with something that simply works consistently. For most ELISA-running laboratories, the second approach has a stronger return on investment, and the microplate washer is the instrument that delivers it. Most labs that switch from manual to automated plate washing do so after a frustrating period of inconsistent assay results that takes longer to diagnose than it should. The background is high. The CVs are poor. The standard curve shifts between runs. All of this is attributed to reagents, samples, or operator technique until someone finally runs a side-by-side comparison between manual and automated washing and the source becomes undeniable. This article explains what is actually happening during manual washi...