PCR Equipment

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is ubiquitous in laboratories and is used in applications such as DNA sequencing, cloning, library generations, mutagenesis, expression profiling, and more. PCR amplifies DNA by copying the nucleic acid strands exponentially. Thermal cyclers denature and anneal DNA strands during amplification and reagents such as enzymes, nucleotides and buffers to build the novel DNA. Automated workstations are available for busy, high-throughput laboratories to simplify workflow. Real-time PCR systems have the capability for gene expression analysis, gene detection, mutation detection, methylation analysis, miRNA research, and relative quantification of target genes. In selecting products, it is helpful to work with a vendor that will provide optimized protocols, documentation, and troubleshooting assistance, since the systems can be complex with many sources of error. When choosing equipment, consider the ease of decontamination, protocol flexibility, downstream applications, throughput, budget and laboratory space available.