Why are air gaps important?
Air gaps separate system liquid from reagent and have been used extensively for contact dispense systems. Using air gaps can significantly reduce overfill requirements and reagent loss. Innovadyne has pioneered the use of micro air gaps for non-contact dispensing. Our software allows users to input air gap size, enabling control of system liquid-reagent separation under a variety of conditions such as assays that use surfactants and detergents. In the case where air gaps are not possible, standard overfill volumes may be used instead. In a study comparing system performance with and without an air gap, 35 µl of reagent was aspirated into a single channel and 100 nl was dispensed into a 384-well plate. One case utilized an air gap while the other did not. Compare the RFU vs. dispense number graphs without and with an air gap.
