Molecular Devices introduces integrated microplate washer and four-fluid dispenser

Sunnyvale, Calif., February 12, 2004 - Molecular Devices Corporation (Nasdaq: MDCC) today announced the introduction of the AquaMax® DW4 liquid handling system to their expanding line of liquid handling products. The system integrates four-fluid dispensing and washing into one compact instrument. The AquaMax DW4 is the only system to handle 1536-well washing, as well as 96- and 384-well low-volume formats. Developed for life scientists and drug discovery researchers, the system provides better results with adherent and non-adherent cell lines and beads, and improved productivity over current dispensers. Windows®-compatible software gives the user the flexibility to easily program multiple dispense and wash procedures.

Commenting on the introduction, Dr. Stephen J. Oldfield, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Molecular Devices stated, "ELISAs, kinase, phosphatase, and GPCR-type assays that require washing and multiple dispensing steps can now be done on one compact unit-there is no need for multiple instruments. The small footprint saves valuable space in the lab and the system's low-volume dispense capability saves in costly reagent usage-for 384-well low-volume microplates, dispensing has been optimized down to 0.5 ml. Furthermore, the user can easily expand throughput capabilities by upgrading from 96-well through 1536-well in one system."