Improve Your Cell Culture Outcomes with FluoroDish™
WPI FluoroDish™ is an optical-grade glass-bottom cell culture dish engineered for live-cell imaging, fluorescence microscopy, and microinjection. Its 0.17 mm coverslip-thin glass bottom produces zero autofluorescence, delivers 30% UV transmission at 300 nm (vs. <7% for competitor glass), and supports magnifications up to 100× with immersion objectives. Every dish is individually packaged and gamma sterilized. Cited in 575+ NIH PubMed Central® articles.
WPI’s FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are optimally designed for a wide variety of cell culture and embryology experiments including high resolution imaging, live cell imaging, electrophysiological recordings of fluorescently tagged cells, and microinjection. FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are far better than standard petri dishes, because they are designed with optical quality glass bottoms, which offer superior imaging using the latest microscopy technology. WPI’s FluoroDishes™ have been cited in over 550 peer-reviewed publications by cell culture laboratories across the world.
By Adrienne L. Watson, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, World Precision Instruments
FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes come in multiple sizes to meet all of your cell culture needs. We have 35 and 50mm dishes, with well sizes of 10, 23, 35mm. FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are also available with multiple low toxicity coatings, including standard tissue culture coating and poly-D-lysine, optimized for attachment of neuronal cell culture applications. Toxicity screening performed by a third-party laboratory showed 100% of embryos survived on these dishes for 96-hours. The ability to grow a wide variety of cell types on cell culture dishes that can be directly imaged using non-endpoint (live imaging) experimental procedures allows for longitudinal studies and highly reduced cell culture contamination, as the cells remain in the cell culture dish and unexposed to the external environment.
Unlike standard petri dishes, the ultra-low access angle of the 23mm FluoroDish™ cell culture dish with 10mm well make them optimal for micropipette insertion during microinjection and have been the mainstay for laboratories performing live cell imaging and embryology research. The glass bottom is 0.17 mm thick, allowing for 30% UV transmission at 300nm compared to <7% for the most popular German glass. This allows for studies using high magnifications up to 100X, using immersion (water, glycerin, or oil) objectives, where you can visualize bacterial cell culture contamination, and intricate cellular morphology and structures, as well as fluorescent localization within cells. The flat bottom of the FluoroDish™ allows for optimal contact with the microscope stage and/or heating units for the most stable in vivo studies.
To further protect your cell culture experiments from contamination, all FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are individually packaged, and gamma sterilized, the gold-standard for preventing cell culture contamination.
FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes find extensive applications in various scientific fields. In biomedical research, cell culture dishes are helpful for studying cellular behavior, including cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation, with implications for understanding disease mechanisms at the cellular level. These dishes facilitate gene editing experiments in genetic research, enabling scientists to explore genetic influences on cell function and behavior.
Browse our cell culture dishes at World Precision Instruments to find the ideal types for your laboratory applications.
If you have questions about FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes, email us at wpi@wpiinc.com or call us at (866) 606-1974.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the glass thickness of WPI FluoroDish™?
WPI FluoroDish™ glass bottom thickness is 0.17 mm ± 0.01 mm. This is equivalent to a standard #1.5 coverslip, the correct thickness for high-NA oil, water, and glycerin immersion objectives on inverted microscopes.
What coatings are available for FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes?
WPI FluoroDish™ are available in five surface chemistries: Collagen, Fibronectin, Poly-D-Lysine (PDL), Poly-L-Lysine (PLL), and Vitronectin. All coated variants are 35 mm dishes with a 23 mm well.
What is the difference between Clear and Blackwall FluoroDish™?
Clear FluoroDish™ are the standard choice for widefield and epifluorescence imaging. Blackwall FluoroDishes™ have opaque black sidewalls that block stray light, reduce background fluorescence, and are recommended for confocal microscopy, TIRF, and super-resolution techniques, as well as dark-room imaging environments.
Are WPI FluoroDishes™ gamma sterilized?
Yes. Every WPI FluoroDish™ is individually packaged and gamma sterilized before shipment. Gamma sterilization achieves a sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10⁻⁶, the gold standard for preventing cell culture contamination, without the thermal or chemical residues associated with autoclaving or EtO sterilization.
What magnification can I achieve with a FluoroDish™?
With an appropriate inverted microscope and immersion objective, WPI FluoroDish™ support magnifications up to 100× and provide a larger numerical aperture (NA) than is achievable with plastic-bottomed dishes, resulting in brighter fluorescence images and higher spatial resolution.
Which FluoroDish™ coating is best for neuronal cell culture?
Poly-D-Lysine (PDL) is the most widely used coating for primary neuronal cultures and neuronal cell lines. PDL electrostatically promotes the attachment of negatively charged cells and is preferred for long-term imaging. If you are working with fixed-cell preparations, Poly-L-Lysine (PLL) is also suitable
Can FluoroDish™ be used for microinjection?
Yes. The 23 mm FluoroDish™ with 10 mm well has an ultra-low rim angle that provides near-horizontal micropipette access, making it the preferred dish for intracellular microinjection and perivitelline injection in embryology research.
