SIMPLICITY AND SENSITIVITY FOR ALL LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE

The Tristar 3 is a user-friendly and affordable filter-based multimode plate reader that offers the high-performance analysis you expect from Berthold Technologies instruments. Equipped with ONE-4-ALL optics for uncompromised performance of all detection modes, the system is ready to perform absorbance, luminescence and fluorescence measurements. It provides you with the flexibility for today, tomorrow, and beyond to master your changing plate reading applications:

• High-sensitivity Luminescence
• BRET
• Absorbance (UV/VIS)
• Fluorescence
• FRET

Broad wavelength range selection from UV through the visible range

From UV absorbance for DNA quantification to measurements in the far red or NIR, the Tristar 3 is ready for any assay and greatly improves the wavelength range of the TriStar².

BRET/BRET2 and NanoBRET™ upgradable

All Tristar 3 preconfigured models have the features you need to perform BRET assays: best-in-class luminescence sensitivity and a high quality filters. To start working with BRET, just order the correct filters for BRET1, BRET2, and NanoBRET™.

ONE-4-ALL Optics for uncompromised performance

Berthold Technollogies’ patented ONE-4-ALL optics have been optimized to combine the stability and user-friendliness of a multimodal optical system with the sensitivity and versatility of a dedicated optical devices.

ONE-4-ALL optics work with both filter and monochromator based applications, so there is never a compromise in performance in any mode.

High-performance filter system – when sensitivity counts

The quick-change filter technology of the Tristar series provides you with the flexibility required to meet your application needs. With your choice of up to 40 different excitation and emission filters can be easily mounted on exchangeable filter slides.

The filters are characterized by high transmittance properties which can be up to 25-fold more sensitive than monochromators. Technologies like Time-Resolved Fluorescence is measured more efficiently with filters.

Furthermore, filters with a large bandwidth are available to analyze fluorophores with wide spectra and all luminescence-based assays requiring the use of filters, e.g. BRET, BRET2 and NanoBRET™ assays.

Ergonomic design to support your work

The ergonomic design of the system provides full frontal access for all key operations (e.g. plate loading, filter change and connecting reagents). Reagent vials can be stored in the integrated front compartment providing easy access and visibility. The Tristar 3 contains a removable trough that can be filled with water or ice to keep all of your temperature sensitive reagents cooled. Different reagent tube holders are available to ensure secure handling of valuable reagents. The system has a flat surface on top, providing enough space for a laptop.

Powerful crosstalk control – reliable results

Do you often see a few high-intensity samples surrounded by wells of low-intensity when running your samples?  Then you are potentially affected by a phenomenon called crosstalk, this can produce wrong results and wrong conclusions. The crosstalk reduction design of the Tristar 3 almost eliminates this problem: with a crosstalk of 10^-6, you will never have to worry about the position of your high-intensity samples in your plate.

JET injectors: highest accuracy, speed and cell-friendliness

The Tristar 3 can be equipped with up to 3 JET injectors with variable volumes in pre-measurement or measurement position. The ultra-fast injection speed of JET injectors eliminates any delay between injection and measurement. This enables the Tristar 3 to measure ultra fast reactions, e.g. flash luminescence.

Berthold Technologies JET injectors use Teflon bellows for accurate and fast injections. This guarantees the most efficient mixing as well as extreme longevity.

• Highest accuracy and reproducibility with greater than 98 % accuracy and reproducibility over the entire volume range.
• Low reagent consumption due to the low dead volume and the injectors can recover up to 60 % of the reagent in the injector line. A single priming sequence is enough to achieve a 99 % homogeneous mix at the tip.
• Low maintenance costs – friction-free operation enables more than 3 million injections without mechanical failure.
• Optimal performance in flash-kinetics – ultra-fast injection enables the measurement of the first 150 ms of a kinetic assay (e.g. Fura-2 or Acridinium ester assays).
• Worry-free injection of cell suspensions – negligible shear forces are ideal when working with living cells, e.g. in Aequorin-based calcium assays.

Convenient Software options

Our microplate readers are powered by LightCompass®, a flexible software enabling easy data acquisition, analysis and reporting using Berthold Technologies’ instruments. It has been optimized for different microplate and tube formats. LightCompass® features all the functions you can expect from an advanced scientific software, such as flexible creation of measurement protocols, curve fitting, qualitative analysis and compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

LightCompass® is available in 3 different versions: Basic, Plus and Professional. Just pick the version that better suits your research needs.

For many laboratories ensuring compliance with a number of GMP and GLP requirements is essential. We provide a number of tools and services to help you ensure that your system is running at peak performance.

Validation Tools

We provide a variety of tools to help you check and confirm the performance of your products over time.

Service

Berthold Technologies provides a team of dedicated factory-trained service engineers and experts to optimize your productivity. We and our local partners are always at your disposal.

Support

Our team of technical support scientists is your resource to overcome the unique challenges your application brings. Contact our team to discuss your assay, experiment design, data analysis, troubleshooting questions.

ULTRASENSITIVE, RELIABLE AND ACCURATE LUMINESCENCE MEASUREMENT

The Centro is a high-performance, easy-to-use and versatile microplate luminometer for both, glow and flash luminescence assays. The optimized optical system of the instrument provides lowest background and negligible crosstalk (10^-6). It can be equipped with up to 3 injectors.

The Centro XS version of the system has been built on the basis of the successful Centro, and shares with it its reliability and robustness, but has been optimized to increase its sensitivity even further: the Centro XS is the most sensitive microplate luminometer available and reliably measures less than 1.8 amol ATP per well. This makes the Centro XS the ideal partner for applications such as determination of cell viability, e.g. in tumour chemosensitivity assay, cell proliferation, antibiotic susceptibility testing or pathogen detection.

The Centro supports all basic luminescence technologies including:

• Flash-type Luminescence
• Glow-type Luminescence
• Cellular Luminescence
• Bio-Luminescence
• Chemi-Luminescence

Sensitive and reliable

Thanks to a stringent selection of photomultipliers working in photon counting mode and more than 40 years of experience building luminometers, the Centro provides highly sensitive luminescence detection: less than 5 amol ATP/well (25 fM) can be detected reliably. In the Centro XS, optics have been optimized to increase its sensitivity even further: below 1.8 amol ATP/well (9 fM).

Powerful crosstalk control – reliable results

Do you often see a few high-intensity samples surrounded by wells of low-intensity when running your samples?  Then you´re potentially affected by a phenomenon called crosstalk, that can produce wrong results and, hence, wrong conclusions. The crosstalk reduction design of the Centro does almost eliminate this problem: with a crosstalk of 10^-6, you never have to worry about the position of your high-intensity samples in your plate.

Integrated waste pump

Thanks to its built-in waste pump, you don’t need to worry about loading microplates, waste containers or removal of injector tips for washing and filling the reagent lines; the built-in waste pump takes care of the safe removal of excess liquids.

JET injectors: highest accuracy, speed and cell-friendliness

The Centro can be equipped with up to 3 JET injectors with variable volumes in pre-measurement or measurement position*. The ultra-fast injection speed of JET injectors eliminates any delay between injection and measurement and enables measurement of fast reactions, e.g. flash luminescence.

Berthold Technologies’ JET injectors use Teflon bellows for accurate and fast injections and guarantee most efficient mixing as well as extreme longevity.

• Accurate pipetting of small volumina: JET injectors ensure the injection of large and small volumes with high accuracy and offer a precision of more than 98% over the entire volume range
• Low maintenance costs: frictionless operation for extended lifetime
• Cell-friendly performance: cell-friendly materials and negligible shear forces enable worry-free injection of cell suspensions, e.g. in Aequorin-based calcium assays

* All injectors in pre-measurement position in the Centro XS.

Convenient Software options

Our microplate readers are powered by LightCompass®, a flexible software enabling easy data acquisition, analysis and reporting using Berthold Technologies’ instruments. It has been optimized for different microplate and tube formats. LightCompass® features all the functions you can expect from an advanced scientific software, such as flexible creation of measurement protocols, curve fitting, qualitative analysis and compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

LightCompass® is available in 3 different versions: Basic, Plus and Professional. Just pick the version that better suits your research needs.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Detectors: Low-noise photomultiplier tube in single photon counting mode
Detection technologies: Luminescence
Measurement modes: Endpoint, Kinetics, Repeated, Area scan (up to 100 x 100 points per well)
Spectral range luminescence: 340-630 nm
Injectors: Up to 3 JET injectors with frictionless operation
Injector volume: 10-100 µL in 1 µL steps
Injector precision: Better than 2% across the entire volume range
Injector accuracy: Better than 2% across the entire volume range
Microplate formats: 96- and 384-well*  *Centro  XS only
Shaking: From ambient +5° to 45° C (not available in Centro XS)
Temperature control: From ambient +5° to 45° C (not available in Centro XS)
Luminescence sensitivity: Centro: <5 amol (25 fM) ATP/well (96-well plate)/Centro XS: <1.8 amol (9 fM) ATP/well (96-well plate)
Crosstalk: 10^-6
Dynamic range: >6 orders of magnitude
Interface: Windows software, connected to computer via USB
Operating system: Windows 10
Available software packages: LightCompass®: flexible software for data acquisition, analysis and reporting.
Regulations: CE, NRTL
Power Supply: 100 – 240 VAC ±10%, 50/60 Hz
Operating Voltage: 24 VDC / 6.67 A
Temperature tolerance: Storage: 0-40° C, Operation: 15-35° C
Humidity tolerance: 10-80% non-condensing, decreasing linearly to 50 %, relative humidity up to 40 °C, decreasing linearly to 50 %, relative humidity up to 40 °C
Dimensions (W x D x H): 334 x 437 x 287 mm
Weight: 21.8 kg