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Spark® read modes

Discovery is in the details

 

 

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Tab 01 / Configurations
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Configured for today. Ready for tomorrow.

The Spark reader allows a broad selection of modules to be freely combined, giving you the flexibility to configure a system which matches your exact needs.

If you are interested in configuring a Spark for your lab, please contact us and we will be happy to tailor an instrument to meet your goals and budget.

Available options

  Standard Enhanced
  1- 384 well plates
Fast scanning monochromator
200 – 1000 nm
1 nm step size
Low-volume NanoQuant Plate™
Cuvette port
1- 1536 well plates
Fast scanning monochromator
200 – 1000 nm
1 nm step size
Low-volume NanoQuant Plate™
Cuvette port
  Standard Enhanced
  1- 384 well plates
Top and bottom optics
Quad4 monochromator
Filter optics
Fusion optics (Filter & Monochromator)
5 W, 50 Hz Xenon flash lamp
1 dichroc mirror, 50% mirror
Fixed bandwidth: Ex 20 nm / Em 20 nm
Includes TRF, FRET, TR-FRET and FP
1- 1536 well plates
Top and bottom optics
Premium QuadX monochromator
Filter optics
Fusion optics (Filter & Monochromator)
20 W, 100 Hz Xenon flash lamp
4 dichroic mirrors, 50% mirror
Flexible bandwidth from 5 to 50 nm
Includes TRF, FRET, TR-FRET and FP
  Standard Enhanced
  1- 384 well plates
96- and 384-well fibers
Glow luminescence
Flash luminescence
OD 1, OD 2 and OD 3 attenuation filters
Multicolor luminescence
Luminescence scanning
AlphaLISA, AlphaScreen, AlphaPlex
1- 1536 well plates
96-, 384- and 1536-well fibers
Glow luminescence
Flash luminescence
OD 1, OD 2 and OD 3 attenuation filters
Multicolor luminescence
Luminescence scanning
AlphaLISA, AlphaScreen, AlphaPlex
  Standard
  6 - 96 well plates, Roboflasks
Brightfield LED
4x objective
CMOS 1.3megapixl camera
Laser autofocus
Cell counting with Tecan Cell Chip™
  Standard Enhanced with Te-Cool
  Temperature: RT +3°C – 42°C
Evaporation protection with humidity cassette
CO2 control 0.04% - 10% (vol.)
O2 control 0.1 – 21% (vol.)
Integrated lid-lifter
Temperature: 18°C – 42°C
Evaporation protection with humidity cassette
CO2 control 0.04% - 10% (vol.)
O2 control 0.1 – 21% (vol.)
Integrated lid-lifter
  Standard
  1 - 384 well plates
Light protection cover
Single or dual dispenser
Reagent heater and stirrer
  Standard
  MultiCheck™ plate for QC and IQO service
Integrated barcode scanner
NanoQuant plate for low volume samples
Cell Chips™
Humidity cassette




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Tab 02 / Absorbance
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Ultra fast. Ultra accurate. Ultra versatile.

Spark’s dedicated High Speed Monochromator deliver absorbance measurements over the full spectrum from 200 – 1,000 nm in less than five seconds. Monochromator-based absorbance measurements have the advantage of high wavelength accuracy and reproducibility in the UV range, which is especially important in nucleic acid and protein analysis.

Spark’s absorbance optics deliver linear measurements from 0 to 4 OD, reducing the need for dilutions; the SparkControl™ software issues a warning if a measurement is outside this range. The automated Lid Lifter™ streamlines your workflow and eliminates interference caused by microplate lids, helping to reduce background noise and improve your data.

Three absorbance instruments in one

ELISA reader, micro-volume spectrophotometer and cuvette spectrophotometer.

Cuvette port

The cuvette port module allows highly accurate and precise absorbance measurement of samples such as bacterial suspensions in higher volumes, eliminating the need for a standalone spectrophotometer.

Easily adjustable path length correction gives you full control over your sample for accurate reads every time.

NanoQuant Plate™

The NanoQuant Plate allows analysis and quantification of as little as 2 µl of up to 16 nucleic acid and protein samples in parallel.

The unique design of the NanoQuant Plate, with a quartz optic for each sample, negates the need for calibration and guarantees consistent performance.

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Smart automation – absorbance empowered

Imagine a new type of automated growth assay in your lab, bringing together a high speed monochromator, integrated environmental controls and evaporation protection.

These features lie at the core of Spark’s smart automation absorbance capabilities. Smart automation minimizes your hands-on time, streamlines workflows and produces a new level of data reproducibility. 

Read More

Additional features

Lid Lifter™

Eliminate the impact of evaporation in your assays by using lidded plates, without compromising your data quality due to lid-induced background noise.

Conditioned kinetics

Improve bacterial growth and protein assay, using Spark’s unique smart automation options to develop new workflows and functionality.

Te-Cool™

Temperature fluctuations impact on your data; constant temperature yields consistent results. Te-Cool is the only technology that can eliminate temperature variability, guaranteeing high quality data.

Read more




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Tab 03 / Fluorescence
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Unmatched flexibility for any assay and budget.

At the heart of the Spark® reader is a unique approach to fluorescence optics – each instrument gives you the capability to fully customize your optics.

Whether you choose filters to maximize your assay sensitivity and budget, monochromators for unmatched flexibility or Fusion Optics to give you the best of both worlds, the decision is yours.

Fusion Optics – stop compromising

Spark is the first instrument to offer independent, user-selectable filters and monochromators on both the excitation and emission sides for any fluorescence measurement.

Fusion Optics combines the best of both worlds, offering no compromise between sensitivity and flexibility.

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Sensitivity that grows with your needs

For access to even higher performance, speed and flexibility, you can select Spark’s enhanced fluorescence modules.

The latest generation Premium QuadX Monochromators™ are combined with variable bandwidth selection – from 5 to 50 nm – a high power xenon flash lamp, multiple dichroic mirrors and lens-based bottom reading to offer increased sensitivity and additional microplate formats, up to 1,536 wells.

Smart automation – fluorescence empowered

Imagine a new type of automated fluorescence assay in your lab, bringing together the functionality of monochromators and the sensitivity of filters – with signals optimized via integrated software – and complete environmental control.

These lie at the core of Spark’s smart automation fluorescence capabilities. Smart automation minimizes hands-on time, streamlines your workflows and delivers a new level of data reproducibility. 

Read More

Additional features

Optimal Reading

Optimized fluorescence bottom reading ensures very low CVs by performing multiple measurements on spatially separated spots arrayed across each well.

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High definition well scanning

Provides a complete picture of the cell population in each well for more accurate signals, even with inhomogeneous cell layers.

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3D scanning

Accelerates assay development by providing simultaneous excitation and emission scans.

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Automated z-focusing

Enhances the sensitivity of top reading fluorescence intensity and fluorescence polarization modes, directly improving the quality of results.

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Fluorescence polarization

Using all optical modalities (filter, monochromator and Fusion Optics) increases the flexibility for your assay development and multiplexing.

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Wide spectral range

The high performance photomultiplier tube used for fluorescence detection delivers high sensitivity over the complete spectral range, from green dyes to red.

Read more




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Tab 04 / Luminescence
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Sensitivity in the widest range of applications and formats.

Spark® can perform flash and glow luminescence measurements over a dynamic range of nine orders of magnitude, using optical density filters to attenuate strong signals and avoid ‘over’ readings. A dedicated photomultiplier tube (PMT) offers single photon counting, eliminating the conflict between sensitivity and dynamic range commonly associated with instruments that use a single PMT for fluorescence and luminescence measurements. This unique optical combination gives you superior sensitivity – effectively reducing the need for time-consuming dilutions – rivaling a standalone luminometer.

Multi-color and scanning

The multi-color luminescence module enables both multi-color measurements and luminescence scanning from 390 to 660 nm.

19 high- and low-pass filter pairs allow wavelength selection comparable to a monochromator, but with exceptional sensitivity.

The module is suitable for all multi-color luminescence applications (BRET1, BRET2™, BRET3, Chroma-Glo™).

Alpha Technology

Spark’s Alpha detection module features an optimized high power laser light source, an ultra-sensitive filter set and Tecan’s unique well-based temperature correction, delivering high performance for all Alpha assays.

Its easy-to-use software and pre-optimized measurement protocols ensures uncompromised performance for AlphaScreen®, AlphaLISA® and AlphaPlex® assays, as well as potential new Alpha Technology applications.

Ready for screening

The luminescence module’s unique optical fiber design effectively minimizes crosstalk for a range of microplate formats, from 96 to 1,536 wells.

In conjunction with the user-selectable filters and dedicated PMT, this gives you a true screening partner in your lab, now and in the future.

Smart automation – luminescence empowered

Imagine a new type of automated luminescence assay in your lab, bringing together environmental controls, temperature stability, reagent dispensing and exceptional luminescence sensitivity.

These features lies at the core of Spark’s smart automation luminescence capabilities. Smart automation minimizes your hands-on time, streamlines workflows and produces a new level of data reproducibility. 

Read more

Additional features

Injectors

Integrated injectors give you dispensing capabilities inside your microplate reader, ideal for high sensitivity applications such as flash luminescence.

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Te-Cool™

Temperature fluctuations impact on your data; constant temperature yields consistent results. Te-Cool is the only technology that can eliminate temperature variability, guaranteeing high quality data.

Read more

Lid Lifter™

Minimize evaporation and contamination with the inclusion of automated microplate lid handling. The integrated microplate Lid Lifter simplifies your luminescence applications.

Read more

Conditional kinetics

Improve cell growth and luminescence assay flexibility, using Spark’s unique smart automation options to develop new workflows and functionality.

Well-based temperature correction

Spark incorporates a unique IR sensor that delivers well-by-well temperature correction to ensure sensitivity, uniformity and linearity for your Alpha assays.

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Multi-color filter wheels

40 user-selectable filters provide unprecedented freedom for any luminescence measurement needing attenuation, including BRET and Chroma-Glo.




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Tab 05 / Cell counting and imaging
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Practical features, reasonable price.

The Spark® reader’s brightfield imaging gives you a new level of visibility for cell-based assays in a microplate reader.

This automated feature uses 4x magnification and label-free laser-based autofocus for applications such as live imaging, image capture and confluence determination of adherent cells – directly in microplates.

This additional layer of quality control helps to produce higher caliber data, making Spark an ideal tool for use in cell seeding and cell growth applications.

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Additional features

Integrated GCM™

Spark’s unique, integrated Gas Control Module (GCM) gives you complete control over CO2 and O2 partial pressures inside the reader chamber, offering stable culture conditions and improved cell viability for your research.

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Humidity Cassette

Evaporation protection enhances live cell kinetic assays by reducing edge effects, giving better reproducibility and more reliable data.

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Lid Lifter™

Minimize evaporation and contamination with the automated microplate lid handling. The integraded microplate Lid Lifter simplifies your cell-based applications.

Cell Chips

In combination with the cell imaging functionality, Cell Chips create new possibilities for cell counting in a microplate reader. This gives you greater application flexibility and minimizes sample preparation for label-free cell counting.

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Autofocus

Laser-based autofocus optimizes image acquisition, increasing the usability of the brightfield imaging. You can acquire rapid, high quality images are directly in microplate wells.

Dispensers

Integrated injectors give you dispensing capabilities inside your microplate reader. The addition of heating and stirring capabilities further enhance application flexibility, enabling you to dispense viable cells.

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