Fluorescence Single-Mode Microplate Readers

There are many terms that refer to instruments used to measure the fluorescence of a sample: fluorescence spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrometer, spectrofluorometer, fluorometer, fluorimeter, etc. In general, they use a light source to excite the sample at a certain wavelength and measure the emitted fluorescence at a second wavelength. The sample may be held in many formats, including cuvettes, capillaries, petri dishes, etc. ‘Fluorescence microplate reader’ refers to an instrument that can measure the fluorescence of samples in a microplate, most often a 96- or 384-well plate. Microplates offer higher throughput and are useful for screening or other applications where many samples must be analyzed.