A membrane mounting system

This product announcement discusses a rather nifty system for mounting, sealing, and preserving microtiter plate membranes. I'm familiar with the hardware and techniques used, and trust me, it's a thing of beauty. It's a terrific example of finding an elegant solution that solves multiple problems at once. It provides a terrific way to protect optical patterns formed within the membranes, seal them from the elements, mount them on a flat and optically clear surface, and store them in a highly compact manner.

The way this system works with its matching plate reader is also truly magnificent.

The best engineering solutions solve multiple problems using minimal cost and a minimal number of steps and components. I daresay that it would be nigh impossible to develop a better solution that the system described in this article. I can't divulge the technical details, but trust me -- to anyone who's knowledgeable in this field, it just overflows with elegance.

I know that one other company developed a different technique for solving this problem. Suffice to say that it's a clumsy approach, and one that's practically doomed to fail, thanks to the laws of physics. Knowing something about material properties and material compliance can be truly helpful.