Inert blue dye, which does not effect the QPCR reaction, significantly enhances the contrast between reagent and plastic, making verification of master mix dispensing quick, easy and foolproof
One of the issues facing QPCR users is ensuring that the correct amount of master mix is added to the reaction.
Since most QPCR master mixes are clear, it is often difficult to discern which wells have been aliquotted successfully, especially when using white plates.
Although recognised as giving superior QPCR results, white plates make visualising colourless reagents harder.
The answer, according to ABgene, is to use ABsolute Blue Master Mix.
This uses an inert blue dye, which does not effect the QPCR reaction, to significantly enhance the contrast between reagent and plastic, making verification of master mix dispensing quick, easy and foolproof.
Whether dispensing manually or robotically, a simple glance is enough to ensure that the correct amount of master mix has been added.
"With ABsolute Blue the advantage is clear," says Melanie Yanek, PCR product manager at ABgene.
"ABsolute Blue Master Mix transforms ease-of-use for all QPCR users and, when used with white PCR plastics, yields significant performance advantages".
Based on ABgene's well known range of ABsolute master mixes, ABsolute Blue Master Mix is said to be ideal for QPCR analysis in molecular biology, including gene expression and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) typing.
The blue colour offers an immediate check that a well has not been missed when dispensing manually.
Also, a scan across the strip or plate will identify any differences in colour intensity that might indicate inaccurate dispensing.
This is an especially useful and rapid validity check when using an automated dispensing system, where variation in colour may indicate a blockage in one or more of the dispensing channels.
ABsolute Blue is available now in a range of pack sizes and formulations.
This flexibility reduces waste for low throughput users while offering high throughput laboratories cost-effective bulk packaging, whatever the QPCR instrument used.
