Which 96 Well Filter Plate Volume? 300 µL, 400 µL, 800 µL or 2 mL

By Arctic White Team. Part of Meet The Plates, Ep. 2.

Line drawing of four 96 well filter plates side by side, 300 µL, 400 µL, 800 µL and 2 mL, shortest to tallest, under the title Which filter plate volume? — Four 0.45 µm PP filter plates: 300 µL, 400 µL, 800 µL and 2 mL nominal.

The short answer: pick the smallest volume that holds your sample

Our four 0.45 µm polypropylene (PP) 96 well filter plates share the same ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint, 127.76 x 85.47 mm, and the same membrane. The thing you are choosing is nominal well volume: 300 µL, 400 µL, 800 µL or 2 mL.

So start with your sample volume per well, and pick the smallest plate that holds it in one load. If no plate holds it in one load, decide whether you would rather run more loads on a smaller plate or one load on the 2 mL plate.

Watch it in 41 seconds

The four plates side by side

From the product pages, checked 2026-10-25:

SKU	Nominal volume	Well shape	Case quantity
AWFP-F20039	300 µL	Round	50
AWFP-F20012	400 µL	Round	25
AWFP-F20005	800 µL	Round	25
AWFP-F20061	2 mL (2000 µL)	Square	25

All four: 96 wells, polypropylene (PP) membrane, 0.45 µm pore size, Hydrophilic: No, long drip director, ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint (127.76 x 85.47 mm). Browse all PP filter plates.

Same footprint, same membrane: what stays the same

Every one of the four plates lists the same ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint, 127.76 x 85.47 mm, and 96 wells. Your plate map does not change when you move between volumes.

Top-down drawing of a 96 well plate grid, rows A to H and columns 1 to 12, on a 127.76 x 85.47 mm footprint with well A1 marked in red, labeled all four — All four plates: ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint, 127.76 x 85.47 mm, 8 rows by 12 columns. Your plate map doesn't change.

The membrane is also the same on all four: polypropylene (PP), 0.45 µm pore size, listed as not hydrophilic. All four list a long drip director. Switching volume does not switch membrane.

Cross-section of one filter plate well bottom with the membrane magnified in a circle, labeled 0.45 µm PP membrane, all four — Same membrane on all four plates: polypropylene (PP), 0.45 µm pore size.

What changes: volume and height

The 2 mL plate holds 2000 / 300 = 6.67 times the nominal volume of the 300 µL plate, or nearly seven times. Each step up in volume is also a taller plate, so the 2 mL plate is the tallest of the four.

Volume grows faster than height because the wells also change. The 300 µL, 400 µL and 800 µL plates have round wells, and the 2 mL plate has square wells. A square well has about 27% more cross-section than a round well of the same width; the math is in Ep. 1, why square wells.

Cross-sections of one well from each plate on a common baseline, 300 µL, 400 µL, 800 µL and 2 mL; the wells get taller as the volume goes up — One well from each plate, on one baseline. What changes is height.

The decision rule, with worked examples

Rule: loads per well = your sample volume / the plate's nominal volume, rounded up. Pick the smallest plate that gives you one load. If none does, compare the loads.

Sample per well	Plate	Math	Loads
250 µL	300 µL (AWFP-F20039)	250 / 300 = 0.83	1
350 µL	400 µL (AWFP-F20012)	350 / 400 = 0.88	1
600 µL	800 µL (AWFP-F20005)	600 / 800 = 0.75	1
1 mL	800 µL (AWFP-F20005)	1000 / 800 = 1.25	2
1 mL	2 mL (AWFP-F20061)	1000 / 2000 = 0.50	1
1.5 mL	800 µL (AWFP-F20005)	1500 / 800 = 1.88	2
1.5 mL	2 mL (AWFP-F20061)	1500 / 2000 = 0.75	1

A 1.5 mL sample is two loads on the 800 µL plate or one load on the 2 mL plate.

A 1.5 mL sample tube split into two loads in an 800 µL well, or one load in a 2 mL well, nominal volumes — 1.5 mL: 2 loads at 800 µL (1500 / 800 = 1.875), or 1 load at 2 mL (1500 / 2000 = 0.75), nominal.

One caution: these are nominal volumes, the volume each plate is listed at. They are not a working volume rating. Check the working volume for your own method before you load a well close to its nominal volume.

FAQ

Do all four filter plates have the same footprint?

Yes. All four product pages list the ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint, 127.76 x 85.47 mm, with 96 wells.

Is the membrane different on the 2 mL plate?

No. All four list a polypropylene (PP) membrane with a 0.45 µm pore size, Hydrophilic: No.

Can I fill a well to its full nominal volume?

The volumes on these pages are nominal. We do not publish a working volume rating, so check the working volume for your method, and leave room if you are close to nominal.

What drip director do they have?

All four product pages list a long drip director.

About Meet The Plates

Meet The Plates is a short series from Arctic White on lab plate geometry. Each episode takes one plate decision and works through it with the specifications on the product page. Ep. 1 covered why 96 deep well plates use square wells.

Sources and math

Sources: the AWFP-F20039, AWFP-F20012, AWFP-F20005 and AWFP-F20061 product pages on arcticsci.com, checked 2026-10-25. The math is our own working.

Volume ratio: 2000 / 300 = 6.67.
Loads: sample / nominal volume, rounded up. 1500 / 800 = 1.875, so 2 loads; 1500 / 2000 = 0.75, so 1 load. Based on nominal volume only.
Square vs round: 4 / pi = 1.27, about 27% more cross-section at the same width (Ep. 1).