Microvolume spectrophotometers: essential for the Molecular Biology laboratory
The accurate quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins, and the assessment of its purity, are of highest importance for all kinds of downstream applications. The applications are qRT PCR, sequencing, microarray, western blotting and many others. Too often the available quantity of biological samples is often very limited, especially lysates of cells grown in microplates and small tissue samples from patients or laboratory animals. This is why a UV-Vis spectrophotometer requiring the smallest sample volume is very valuable in laboratories using Molecular Biology methods. A highly reproducible instrument especially at low concentrations with a large linear range are also very desirable.
Microvolume spectrophotometers for DNA and nucleic acid quantification
Our microvolume spectrophotometers have been optimized for the quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins using very small sample volumes - as low as 1 µL. To evaluate the purity of the sample, the A260/A280 and A260/A230 are automatically calculated and the spectrum is displayed on the screen so that you can easily see if the purification was acceptable.
In addition to the default quantification settings for dsDNA, RNA and ssDNA, the software of our microvolume spectrophotometers enables to use custom extinction coefficients. This enables the user to measure other sample types, such as siRNA or oligonucleotides.
Microvolume spectrophotometers for other applications
Since we are able to measure absorption not only in the UV but also in the visible range, our microvolume spectrophotometers can also be used to quantify proteins using traditional methods such as Lowry, Bradford and BCA with a selection of curve fitting algorithms.
A wide range of other dyes can also be measured, e.g. for microarray applications, protein markings or any colorimetric method with limited sample availability. The Colibri's versatility makes it a great addition to any life sciences laboratory.
More DNA quantification solutions
Is UV-Vis absorbance not sensitive enough for your needs? Or maybe you need a solution for larger numbers of samples? Then you may be interested on measuring either absorbance or fluorescence in our microplate readers, or to learn more about DNA quantification solutions.