Aurora Microplates Won Best in Showcase at LRIG-NYC
The company’s synthetic microplate coating system secured top honors at the 2026 Laboratory Robotics Interest Group Expo.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Life Sciences
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Aurora Microplates earned the Best in Showcase award at the 2026 LRIG-NYC Spring Expo, where judges selected the company based on technical merit and innovation. The award recognizes the company's CELLAZIP coating technology for laboratory automation applications.
Why it matters
The recognition highlights the shift toward stable, non-biological coatings designed to streamline high-throughput cell culture workflows. By offering long-term shelf stability, these materials aim to reduce the logistical overhead typical of traditional biological substrates.
The CELLAZIP system is a non-biological coating applied to ZEONOR Cyclo Olefin Polymer (COP) microplates. This synthetic substrate remains stable at room temperature for 24 months.
The players
Aurora Microplates
A developer of specialized microplate hardware and surface-engineered substrates for automated cell culture and drug discovery workflows.
Laboratory Robotics Interest Group (LRIG)
A professional community of scientists and engineers focused on advancing automation and instrumentation within the life sciences sector.
The details
CELLAZIP is a synthetic microplate surface modification designed to replace complex biological coatings that often require specific temperature-controlled storage. The platform is bifurcated into two variants: CELLAZIP-F, optimized for neural cells, general cell lines, and primary cells, and CELLAZIP-G, engineered for cardiomyocytes, stem cells, and muscle cells. These coatings leverage ZEONOR, a cyclo olefin polymer base material known for its high transparency and low drug-binding characteristics in automated laboratory workflows.
Timeline
September 23, 2026: The award was announced at the LRIG-NYC Spring Expo.
The Tech Race
The development of synthetic, room-temperature stable coatings is a core competitive area in the race to automate high-throughput screening. This win marks a shift away from traditional, perishable biological substrates toward standardized, shelf-stable alternatives.
Labs can utilize CELLAZIP-coated plates to simplify inventory management by eliminating cold-chain requirements for substrates. Researchers working with neural, stem, or muscle cells can now integrate these polymer-based plates into existing automated liquid handling workflows.
The takeaway
The industry is increasingly moving toward standardized, non-biological coatings to improve the reliability of automated cell culture. Observers should track the integration of these synthetic substrates into high-throughput screening platforms in the coming year.
Further reading
For broader trends in research hardware, visit the Life Sciences section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by News-Medical.
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