Inside an incubator or anaerobic chamber!
Well, now there is!
Meet the Stratus, by Cerillo.
The Stratus is just slightly larger than a single microplate and is built to withstand the most rugged environments.
The Stratus uses LED lights to produce a single wavelength of light and has no moving parts to break down or wear out.
The Stratus can be powered on the benchtop with a standard micro-USB power source or operated off a battery pack for up to 72 hours.
Using a Stratus you can leave your growing samples undisturbed while continuing to take readings, up to thirty per hour.
The amount of data that can be produced using the Stratus inside an incubator or anaerobic chamber is unlike anything obtainable from a traditional microplate reader.
Curious to learn more about the Stratus microplate reader?
Here are some helpful FAQs:
What kind of plates is the Stratus compatible with?
The Stratus can read 96-, 24-, 12-, or 6-well plates. Flat-bottomed plates are preferred.
Can the Stratus reside in an anaerobic chamber permanently?
We have had numerous beta testers use various experimental versions of the Stratus in anaerobic chambers for long periods of time with no problems. The anaerobic unit in service the longest has been in its chamber for about 2 years (as of August 2019). However, we have not explicitly tested the effects of long-term exposure to an anaerobic environment.
Does the Stratus contain any internal controls for temperature or shaking?
No. The Stratus is extremely compact and designed to adapt to any measurement environment you establish for it (including shaking and incubation), rather than creating its own.
What if my samples require shaking?
The Stratus can be placed on an orbital or linear shaker during measurement. If you choose to conduct a shaking experiment, we recommend a minimum speed of 180 RPM to ensure good data quality.
Are there clinical applications tested for the Stratus?
We have not validated the Stratus for use in a clinical setting, and therefore require that it be used for research purposes only.
Does the Stratus need to be connected to a computer to run?
No. The Stratus can be fully operated while powered by its included USB AC adapter, without a connection to a computer. The Stratus must be connected for the initial experimental setup, but those parameters are then saved to the onboard microSD card, and it will run those settings anywhere you put it.
Does the Stratus support saving data to external storage?
The Stratus saves all of its data to its onboard microSD card, which can be removed and read in any commercially available adapter. It does not support any other form of external storage, though. You can also read the saved data directly off of the device (via a USB connection), even if it was not tethered to a computer when the experiment was run.
Purchase a Stratus microplate reader one at a time, or in convenient packs of four to maximize your data production.
Stratus microplate readers are available from Stellar Scientific