Ever shattered a nail, spilled a precious sample, or worried about aerosol exposure while tearing off a plate seal? You're not alone. For many researchers and lab technicians, manually removing sealing films from microplates is more than a tedious task—it's a significant source of inconsistency, risk, and frustration.
In an era of automation and precision science, relying on human hands to perform such a critical step undermines data integrity, efficiency, and most importantly, operator safety. Let's break down the core pitfalls of manual seal removal from the operator's perspective.
1. Poor Ergonomics & Low Efficiency
Peeling off seals—especially from 96- or 384-well plates—requires considerable force and repetition. This often leads to finger fatigue, discomfort, and even repetitive strain injuries. What's more, manually stripping seals from large batches of plates becomes a time-consuming bottleneck, slowing down entire workflows and reducing overall throughput.
2. High Risk of Contamination
The sudden, uncontrolled motion of tearing a seal can violently agitate air within the wells, generating aerosols. This is particularly dangerous when working with infectious agents, toxic compounds, or radioactive materials. These aerosols risk contaminating the laboratory environment, other samples, and the operator themselves. Additionally, manual handling increases the chance of external contaminants from hands entering the wells.
3. Inconsistent Results & Human Error
No two people peel a seal the same way—even the same person may do it differently each time. Variations in angle, speed, and force introduce unwanted variability into assays. Aggressive removal can also cause film remnants to stick to the plate or well walls, interfering with pipetting, optical readings, or mass spectrometry injections. Worse, liquid splash-out from deep-well plates compromises sample volume and accuracy.
4. Health and Safety Hazards
From chemical exposure to allergic reactions caused by aerosolized allergens, manual seal removal puts operators in harm's way. The physical and biological risks associated with this step are often underestimated until an incident occurs.
The Solution: Embrace Automation with Bio-DL's Automatic Seal Remover
What if you could remove microplate seals safely, uniformly, and with the push of a single button?
Introducing Bio-DL's Automatic Seal Remover—a compact, powerful, and intelligent system designed to eliminate the variability and risks of manual peeling.
Reliable and Proven Performance
With nearly 10,000 repeated sealing-and-removal tests, our system delivers exceptional reliability. It is equipped with plate-height detection and error alerts to prevent misoperation and instrument damage.
Unmatched Efficiency
Process up to 200 plates per hour—dramatically accelerating your workflow while maintaining sample integrity.
Eliminate Contamination
Using proprietary adhesive tape, the system cleanly lifts seals without shaking or aerosol generation. This significantly reduces the risk of cross-contamination and protects both the operator and the sample.
Broad Compatibility
Works with a wide range of microplates—including full-skirted PCR plates, low-profile plates, and deep-well plates (up to 2 ml). Each tape roll can remove up to 400 seals.
Simple Integration
Use it as a standalone unit or integrate it effortlessly into automated workflows via RS232 communication. It's designed to fit right into your lab's ecosystem.
Upgrade Your Lab's Standard of Care
Manual seal removal isn't just inefficient—it's an outdated practice that compromises safety, reproducibility, and trust in results. With Bio-DL's Automatic Seal Remover, you're not just automating a step; you're elevating your entire lab's standards of accuracy, safety, and efficiency.
Choose precision. Choose protection. Choose progress.
In science, how you prepare your samples is just as important as how you analyze them. Don't let the first step be the weakest link.
About Bio-DL
Bio-DL is a trusted provider of innovative laboratory automation solutions focused on enhancing reproducibility, safety, and efficiency in life science research. Our products are designed by scientists, for scientists—so you can focus on what truly matters: your research.
