# Microplate

## Overview

A microplate, also known as a microtiter plate or multiwell plate, is a flat plate with multiple "wells" that act as small test tubes. It has become an essential tool in analytical research and clinical diagnostic testing laboratories. A common application is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which is foundational to most modern medical diagnostic tests for both humans and animals

A [microplate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplate) typically features 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, 384, or 1536 sample wells arranged in a 2:3 rectangular matrix. Some variants have 3456 or 9600 wells, and a product called "array tape" offers a continuous strip of microplates embedded on flexible plastic tape. Read

![Example of 96-well microplate](/files/-LO0ItM4HuKJgNIkQHSg)

## Layout

All plate widgets have a similar layout but vary in dimensions. The first row and column are reserved for names. When selected, the respective row and column will be highlighted.

| Widget              | No. Columns | No. of Rows |
| ------------------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| 6-Well Plate        | 3           | 2           |
| 12-Well Plate       | 4           | 3           |
| 24-Well Plate       | 6           | 4           |
| 48-Well Plate       | 8           | 6           |
| 96-Well Plate       | 12          | 8           |
| 384-Well Plate      | 24          | 16          |
| Flexible Well Plate | Any         | Any         |

## Custom Labels

All plate widgets support customizable column and row labels, allowing you to annotate each column or row with meaningful identifiers — such as sample names, experimental conditions, or treatment groups.

To set custom labels, click on a **column header** (e.g., 1, 2, 3…) or **row header** (e.g., A, B, C…) to select it. An input field will appear where you can type a custom label. This label will replace the default numeric or alphabetic identifier for that column or row.

**Common use cases:**

* Assign sample names to columns (e.g., "Control", "Treatment A", "Treatment B")
* Specify concentrations along rows (e.g., "1 µM", "10 µM", "100 µM")
* Label rows or columns with time points, replicates, or reagent identifiers

{% hint style="info" %}
Custom labels are saved with the plate data and will appear in all views, including exports.
{% endhint %}

## Widgets

* [6-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/6-well-plate.md)
* [12-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/12-well-plate.md)
* [24-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/24-well-plate.md)
* [48-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/48-well-plate.md)
* [96-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/96-well-plate.md)
* [384-Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/384-well-plate.md)
* [Flexible Well Plate](/widgets/section-widgets/biology/microplate/flexible-well-plate.md)


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