I want to ask about the Byonoy 96 microplate reader (absorbance and luminescence). I’m curious whether it can read strictly at the centre of fixed coordinate (ie the centre of the well) only, or can it actually can be programmed such as via USB if reverse engineered, to read at any coordinate within an SBS-format plate?
For anyone who has Byonoy or has looked through its hardware, I appreciate if you can let me know if it is also compatible to read a 384-well plate, or a single well plate at any coordinate. If the hardware involves absorbance system that is fixed at 96 locations, then this is not possible. But if the hardware works by moving the reader at any coordinate, then this would work for any plate than can fit inside the container. Just want to know before we buy one. Thank you so much!
Short answer: no, none of the Byonoy plate readers can read at any arbitrary location.
Instead, the plate readers are as miniaturised as they are - i.e. can be placed on a liquid handler deck - because of the hardware decisions they’ve made:
every well has its own light path!: i.e. there are 96 lights on the “cap” (named “illumination unit” in the manual), and 96 detectors in the base (named “detection unit” in the manual)
→ this means that ALL wells are read simultaneously
→ at the cost of not being able to move the coordinates that are being read (it’s a worthwhile tradeoff imo)
this means you cannot read a 384-wellplate with the “Absorbance 96 Automate” plate reader - if 384-wellplate reading is a must for you I would recommend just contacting Byonoy and asking whether they are working on an “Absorbance 384 Automate” - their team is very approachable and we found them extremely nice to work with.
every detection mode requires purchase of a different machine - the absorbance plate reader cannot perform luminescence readings (to my knowledge, and vice versa … same for a future version that might read fluorescence )
for absorbance, you have to choose what wavelengths you want to be able to read when ordering, i.e. you cannot perform spectral scans (as you can do with a big machine like a CLARIOstar)
Altogether, the Absorbance 96 Automate is an amazing machine - you get speed and a uniquely tiny form factor to fit anywhere at the tradeoff of less measurement flexibility and a very reasonable price, can highly recommend
or we can just ask Byonoy - they are an official PyLabRobot supporter now
This is more than the answer I needed! Thanks so much for the prompt reply. Also agree, fair with its price, the tradeoff is understandable.
Also I actually didnt notice on the fixed 4 wavelengths only for one device (that’s also fair for the price), but still far cheaper than Opentrons Absorbance Module which also come with 4 default wavelength filters.
It looks to me as though that is the Byonoy Absorbance 96 Automate?
Maybe Opentrons just created a tray for the Byonoy machine so that it fits nicely on the Flex deck? And probably would provide a definition for it in the Opentrons definition universe to make it easier to use?
But why are they not even mentioning Byonoy’s name then, funny?
Hi @hazlamshamin, Colten here from Byonoy. Camillo already covered the main points. I just wanted to add that you can reach out to us directly if you’d like to discuss a particular application or potential customization of our existing reader lineup.
Hi Colten! Will keep that in mind, really appreciate the direct support from Byonoy Currently we are seeking budget to purchase one of the 96 Absorbance Automate hence is looking through what it can and cannot do for on-the-deck applications.
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Currently we are seeking budget to purchase one of the 96 Absorbance Automate hence is looking through what it can and cannot do for on-the-deck applications.