AquaMax DW4 from Molecular Devices

unique design
The AquaMax DW4 systems small footprint houses a built-in vacuum and air pressure pump. No external vacuum system is needed. Each of the four separate reservoir bottles have their own fluid path to individual dispense heads, providing the system with the ability to dispense four different fluids into one microplate. A magnetic stirring mechanism is housed in the manifold to allow mixing of solutions in the first inlet reservoir bottle. (See Figure 1.) The system is robotic-compatible with a robotic-friendly plate carriage and accessible RS-232 COM port.

flexibility
The flexibility of the instrument is evident with the Windows-compatible software. The software is bi-directional and allows the user to view what is currently on the instrument, as well as set up new programs. Row selection offers the choice to dispense from a few rows or the complete plate. The software provides for the adjustment of liquid factor and aspiration probe height to allow for low residual volume, as well as configuration of users and microplates.

versatility
The system can be configured with up to four dispense heads and one aspirate head. The liquid handling system accommodates 96-, 384- and 1536-well microplate formats. The system has a separate set of optimized heads to handle each plate type.

usability
The AquaMax DW4 is a non-contact, fixed-tip dispenser and washer. The dispense and aspirate heads, working with the software, determine the configuration that ranges from 96- to 1536-well formats.