Determination of well-to-well crosstalk in microplates used for luminescence measurements

The use of luminescence assays and reagents
in drug discovery has increased significantly
over the past ten years due to a
combination of ease of use, very high
specificity of assays and good sensitivity at
low levels of screened compounds. Modern
photometric instruments are able to
accurately count very low levels of photon
emissions from luminescence substrates and
this has led to an increasing focus on the
optical cross talk inherent in the design of
SBS/ANSI standard microplates and the
signal-to-noise ratio that can be
experimentally obtained. This short paper
compares the observable optical cross talk in
three different manufacturers’ micro well
plates and finds that the use of a black
supporting matrix can significantly improve
sensitivity in microplate assays.