Summary:
MWellGX is a next-generation product and accessory for 96-well microplates developed by Canadian-based company, Emmoni, designed to enhance the stability and shelf-life of critical materials, including biomaterials and reagents. This study highlights the ability of MWellGX seals to prevent colour-indicating silica beads from reacting under an extreme humidity environment. The results show that the silica beads placed in multi-well microplates and sealed with MWellGX seals, had no measurable change in colour when exposed to a relative humidity (RH) of 80 ± 10% over a 6-hour period.
Introduction:
Ensuring the stability and longevity of sensitive materials is crucial in scientific research, especially in environments with fluctuating humidity. MWellGX seal (Emmoni Inc.) was designed to address this challenge. It provides a protective moisture barrier for 96-well microplates so that any critical materials (e.g. biomaterials and reagents) that are stored in the microplates (highly typical in research, and even in commercial applications) are protected from external humidity fluctuations. In this study, 96-well microplates containing colour-indicating silica beads and equipped with MWellGX seals were exposed to an extreme humidity environment. The goal was to assess MWellGX seals’ ability to maintain stable conditions, under said extreme environment, and prevent the colour-indicating silica beads placed within the 96-well microplates from reacting/changing colour.
Materials & Methods:
Materials:
Five 96-well microplates (Falcon Black Flat Transparent Bottom).
Colour-indicating silica beads (Wisesorb Silica Gel 2LBS, Indicating Silica Beads, Orange to Green, Reusable Silica Gel Desiccant Dehumidifier).
Five MWellGX seals - sealing accessory (Emmoni Inc.).
Four Thermos containers - used to store water brought to boil to produce an extreme humidity environment.
One Fully Sealed Container - for storing Thermos containers and microplate, silica bead, MWellGX assemblies.
Methods:
A total of 96 colour-indicating silica beads, each placed in an individual well of a 96-well microplate, were prepared for exposure to a controlled high-humidity environment of 80 ± 10% relative humidity (RH). The beads are designed to absorb moisture and as a result change from the colour orange to green as the relative humidity (RH) of the beads increases.
A total of five 96-well microplates containing beads were tested. Each microplate was sealed with Emmoni’s MWellGX seal. Figure 1 shows a single 96-well microplate with two MWellGX seals (for visualization). The entire assembly (×5) was placed inside a fully enclosed system designed to maintain high humidity, consisting of near-boiling water stored in thermos containers with open tops. This setup allowed for an 80 ± 10% RH environment. The water was replaced with new water brought to boil at the 2 h and 4 h mark.
The experiment was run for a total of 6 h. This duration was selected based on prior findings where individual silica beads stored in wells for 24 hours absorbed atmospheric moisture, leading to a color change from orange to green. This is a result of the low surface area of the beads relative to the moisture in the wells (only one bead per well). By limiting the experiment to 6 h, atmospheric moisture absorption was minimized: no change in bead colour was observed. At 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h, the assemblies were removed from the system and the colour change of the silica beads was recorded visually by taking an image. Further, at 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h, the water in the Thermos containers was replaced with water brought to boil. The colour of the beads was observed from the bottom of the plate which is transparent. The RH values of each bead were determined by referencing a colour scale provided by the silica bead manufacturer (see Figure 2 for the scale), which correlates the bead colour (orange to green) to specific RH values.
Results & Discussion:
At the start of the experiment, the relative humidity (RH) across all five microplates was largely consistent, with the beads representing either 10% or 20% RH. Over the course of 6 h, there were no measurable changes in RH detected at any well position across all microplates. Figure 2 shows images from the bottom side of a single 96-well microplate with silica beads, with each image taken at 0 h (A), 2 h (B), 4 h (C), and 6 h (D).
The data from this experiment demonstrate the protective capability of Emmoni's MWellGX in maintaining both stable and low RH levels within the wells of a 96-well microplate when exposed to an extreme humidity environment. This result strongly supports the effectiveness of MWellGX in preventing moisture penetration which is crucial to enhancing the stability and shelf-life of critical materials including biomaterials and reagents.
Comentarios