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ELISAs are ubiquitous in biomedical research and clinical testing. This heterogeneous assay typically uses a microplate as a solid surface to which specific antibodies are bound allowing the capture and analysis of a seemingly infinite number of analytes. It does so by a series of incubations, reagent additions and wash-steps. During incubations, specific molecules are bound to the solid substrate by interactions with the previously absorbed antibodies. Following the binding step, unbound materials are removed by the washing step. After the unbound material has been removed, the next reagent (usually a conjugate) is added comprised of a specific antibody and an enzyme covalently linked. Again unbound material is removed and the next reagent (substrate) added afterward. The substrate interacts with the enzymatic portion of the conjugate to produce a colored compound, which can be detected by absorbance, fluorescence or luminescence depending on the substrate used. Regardless of the analyte, the same process steps are used in ELISA.

The EL406 Washer Dispenser is an automated microplate processor that can perform microplate washing steps in 96- and 384-well microplates. In addition to standard wash routines, the EL406 has built-in cell-washing capabilities. A buffer switching valve allows for up to four different wash buffers to be selected without changing bottles. A built-in ultrasonic cleaner allows for automated maintenance of the wash manifold. In addition the device has up to three different reagent dispenser heads. One head is a peristaltic pump device capable of dispensing from 1 µL to 3000 µL. The EL406 can also be configured with an additional module that has two independent syringe pump dispenser heads capable of delivering from 5 µL to 3000 µL. The EL406 is capable of plate shaking at three different speeds and is robotic compatible.