Tristar 5 Multimode Reader

Tristar 5 Multimode Reader

Application flexibility you can count on

The Tristar 5 is a modular high-performance microplate reader equipped with independent, user-selectable filters and monochromators on both, the excitation and emission side for any measurement.

This guarantees both, flexibility and sensitivity whenever you need it. The system supports advanced detection modes such as TRF and TR-FRET, and FP as well as specific assays like BRET/BRET2, NanoBRET™ , Lantha-Screen® or AlphaScreen®.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Tristar 5 Multimode Microplate Reader provides you with application flexibility for today, tomorrow, and beyond to master your changing plate reading applications. The system supports the following wide range of detection modes:

• Absorbance (UV/VIS)
• Fluorescence Intensity (including FRET)
• Luminescence (including BRET and BRET2)
• Time Resolved Fluorescence (TRF)
• Time Resolved FRET (TR-FRET / HTRF®)
• Fluorescence Polarization
• AlphaScreen®

The Tristar 5 system is equiped with FlexTec Optics, offering you the best of two worlds – benefit from the flexibility to easily select a discrete wavelength and perform spectral scans for both, excitation and emission using its built-in monochromator technology. Or optimize your assays´ sensitivity by utilizing the system filter sliders for excitation and emission. Or mix both technologies if required: the Tristar 5 delivers both, flexibility and sensitivity in a single system.

The Tristar 5 employs up to two double monochromators providing blocking properties needed in sensitive fluorescence assays. Both monochromators are equipped with software driven continuous bandwidth variation to optimise the instrument for the specific demands of different assay conditions.

Berthold´s flexible monochromator technology offers you variable bandwidths from 4-12 nm in excitation and 8 – 22 nm for emission, selectable in 1 nm increments.

ONE-4-ALL Optics - uncompromised performance

Our patented ONE-4-ALL optics have been optimised to combine the stability and user-friendliness of a multimodal optical system with the sensitivity and versatility of dedicated optical devices.

ONE-4-ALL optics work for both filter- and monochromator-based applications, so there´s never a compromise in performance in any mode.

High-performance filter system - when sensitivity counts

The quick-change filter technology of the Tristar series provides you with the flexibility required to meet your application needs: up to 40 different excitation and emission filters can be easily mounted on exchangeable filter slides.

The filters are characterized by high transmissions properties which can be up to 25-fold that of monochromators. Technologies like Time-Resolved Fluorescence (TRF) can be measured more efficiently with filters.

Furthermore, filters with a large bandwidth are available to analyze fluorophores with wide spectra and all luminescence-based assay requiring to use filters, e.g. BRET, BRET² or NanoBRET™ assays.

Ergonomic design - supporting your workflows

The ergonomic design of the system provides full front access for all key operations (e.g. plate loading, filter change and connecting reagents). Reagent vials can be stored in an integrated front compartment, providing easy access and visibility.

It contains a removable trough that can be filled with water or ice to keep all reagents cooled. Different reagent tube holders are available to ensure secure handling of valuable reagents. The system has a flat surface on its top, providing enough space to put down a laptop.

Powerful crosstalk control – reliable results

Do you often see a few high-intensity samples surrounded by wells of low-intensity when running your samples?  Then you´re potentially affected by a phenomenon called crosstalk, that can produce wrong results and, hence, wrong conclusions. The crosstalk reduction design of the Tristar 5 does almost eliminate this problem: with a crosstalk of 10^-6, you never have to worry about the position of your high-intensity samples in your plate.

The Tristar 5 can be equipped with up to 3 JET injectors with variable volumes in pre-measurement or measurement position. The ultra-fast injection speed of JET injectors eliminates any delay between injection and measurement and enables measurement of fast reactions, e.g. flash luminescence.

Berthold Technologies' JET injectors use Teflon bellows for accurate and fast injections and guarantee most efficient mixing as well as extreme longevity.

• Highest accuracy and reproducibility - 98 % accuracy over the entire volume range
• Low reagent consumption - Low dead volume. Recovers up to 60 % of the reagent in the injector line. A single priming sequence is sufficient to achieve a 99 % homogeneous mix at the tip.
• Low maintenance costs – friction-free operation enables more than 3 million injections without mechanical failure.
• Optimal performance in flash-kinetics - ultra-fast injection enables the measurement of the first 150 ms of a kinetic assay (e.g. Fura-2 or Acridiniumester-assys).
• Worry-free injection of cell suspensions - negligible shear forces ideal when working with living cells, e.g. in Aequorin-based calcium assays

Choose between different software options according to your application needs:

ICE Software

• ICE software is an intuitive, wizard-guided software that walks you through the entire process of setting up your system, collecting your data and reporting the results. The software package is as flexible as your research thanks to the many setting options and freely configurable combinations of operating sequences.

MikroWin Software

• The MikroWin software is a complete software solution providing instrument control, data collection, analysis and reporting. The software is available in different versions, reflecting different user needs. The complete Advance version of the software provides 21 CFR Part 11 compliance and additional QC features like audit trail or configurable user hierarchies.

Technical Details