Plaque assays are a standard method utilized by virologists to identify the amount of infectious virus particles in solution. In many laboratories, counting the plaques in plates is performed manually either by visual inspection or using a microscope. This is cumbersome, error prone and very time-consuming. Automated imaging and plaque analysis are rarely used.
In this note, we show how the plaque imaging and analysis process can be automated to help virologists rapidly determine the concentrations of virus solutions with higher precision and less effort using the EnSight® multimode plate reader and Kaleido™ Data Acquisition and Analysis Software. When combined with 96-well microplates and EnSight’s stacker system, this method further enhances the time-saving benefit and qualifies for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications. Download our technical note to learn more.