Culture plate selection guides
Choose from a wide range of styles, sizes, and surfaces to suit a variety of cell culture applications. Thermo Scientific Nunc cell culture plates and well plates are available in more than 100 combinations of format and surface, designed to help promote healthy cells and reproducible results. Lot-to-lot cell line testing helps to ensure consistency.
The fully molded well plates are made of polystyrene and come in clear, black, or white.
Clear plates can be used for fluorescence studies of 3D cell cultures or suspensions/solutions. Black plates can be used for fluorometry applications involving suspensions/solutions or adherent cell cultures. White plates are suitable for luminescence studies involving adherent cell cultures or suspensions/solutions. Clear plates have excellent imaging properties for magnification up to 40x. Optical bottom plates with thin polystyrene film or coverglass bottoms are engineered for superior imaging properties to provide low autofluorescence, absence of a halo effect, improved optical clarity, and high signal-to-noise ratios.
To choose the best plate for you, please see below guides or the plate selection tool.
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Cell culture plate and multiwell plate sizes
Nunc plates for cell culture are available in a myriad of sizes, colors, and surface treatments. To help your selection process, these products have been categorized in different ways. Above, use our cell culture plate selection tool and find plates by detection technology or plates by surface types guides. Below, plates are categorized by size and then by plastic. On each tab, find plate features and the ability to order the products that suit your needs best.
Polystyrene single-well plates come as both OmniTrays, optimized for screen libraries and DNA hybridization, as well as a standard ANSI-dimensioned rectangular plate optimized for use with molecular biology robotic instrumentation. OmniTrays come with both untreated and Nunclon Delta treated surfaces.
Nunc 4-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Rectangle | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 21.8 cm2 | 1.9 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 167063 | 176740 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 267061 | 179820 |
Nunc 6-well multidishes feature:
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 9.6 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 140675 | 140685 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140680 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150239 | |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174932 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174901 | |
| Poly-D-lysine coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152035* | |
| Collagen I coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152034* | |
| Nunclon Vita for harvesting pluripotent stem cells (Cat. No.) | 145380 | |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 8-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Rectangle |
|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 10.5 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 167064 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 267062* |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 12-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Round |
|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 3.5 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 150628 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140681 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150200 |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174931 |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174900 |
Nunc 24-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 1.9 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 142475 | 142485 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140682 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 144530 | |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174930 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174899 | |
| Poly-D-lysine coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152025* | |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 48-well multidishes feature:
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 1.1 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 150687 | 152640 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140683 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150787 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174898 | |
Polystyrene single-well plates come as both OmniTrays, optimized for screen libraries and DNA hybridization, as well as a standard ANSI-dimensioned rectangular plate optimized for use with molecular biology robotic instrumentation. OmniTrays come with both untreated and Nunclon Delta treated surfaces.
Nunc 4-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Rectangle | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 21.8 cm2 | 1.9 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 167063 | 176740 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 267061 | 179820 |
Nunc 6-well multidishes feature:
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 9.6 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 140675 | 140685 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140680 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150239 | |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174932 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174901 | |
| Poly-D-lysine coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152035* | |
| Collagen I coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152034* | |
| Nunclon Vita for harvesting pluripotent stem cells (Cat. No.) | 145380 | |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 8-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Rectangle |
|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 10.5 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 167064 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 267062* |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 12-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Round |
|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 3.5 cm2 |
| Large packaging available? | No |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 150628 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140681 |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150200 |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174931 |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174900 |
Nunc 24-well multidishes feature:
- Polystyrene
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
- Gamma irradiation sterilization
- Non-pyrogenic certification
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 1.9 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 142475 | 142485 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140682 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 144530 | |
| Nunclon Sphera for spheroid-organoid cultures (Cat. No.) | 174930 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174899 | |
| Poly-D-lysine coating for finicky cells (Cat. No.) | 152025* | |
*Aseptically manufactured
Nunc 48-well multidishes feature:
- Flat well bottoms for stackability
| Well shape | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area/well | 1.1 cm2 | |
| Large packaging available? | No | Yes |
| Nunclon Delta for adherent cells (Cat. No.) | 150687 | 152640 |
| Nunclon Supra for MSC and primary cells (Cat. No.) | 140683 | |
| Non-treated for suspension cells (Cat. No.) | 150787 | |
| UpCell for adherent culture plus trypsin-free harvesting (Cat. No.) | 174898 | |
Cell culture plate specifications
Some useful numbers such as surface area and volumes of dissociation solutions are given below for various size culture plates.
| Size | Seeding density (cells /well) | Cells at confluency (cells/well) | Versene (mL** of 0.05% EDTA) | Trypsin (mL** of 0.05% trypsin, 0.53 mM EDTA) | Growth medium (mL**) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-well | 0.3 x 106 | 1.2 x 106 | 1 | 1 | 1–3 |
| 12-well | 0.1 x 106 | 0.5 x 106 | 0.4–1 | 0.4–1 | 1–2 |
| 24-well | 0.05 x 106 | 0.24 x 106 | 0.2–0.3 | 0.2–0.3 | 0.5–1.0 |
| 48-well | 0.03 x 106 | 0.12 x 106 | 0.1–0.2 | 0.1–0.2 | 0.2–0.4 |
**Approximate volume
Related products
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.