How To Choose A PCR Plate

Last time we have introduced you what is a PCR plate. But do you know how to choose a PCR plate? Today we will study this issue.

PCR plates usually use 96-well and 384-well formats, followed by 24-well and 48-well. The nature of the PCR machine used and the application in progress will determine whether the PCR plate is suitable for your experiment.

Skirt

The "skirt" of the PCR plate is the plate around the plate. The skirt can provide better stability for the pipetting process during the construction of the reaction system, and provide better mechanical strength during automatic mechanical processing. PCR plates can be divided into no skirts, half skirts and full skirts.

Board surface

The surface of the board refers to its upper surface.

The full flat panel design is suitable for most PCR machines and is easy to seal and handle.

The raised-edge plate design has the best adaptability to certain PCR instruments, which helps to balance the pressure of the heat cover without the need for adapters, ensuring the best heat transfer and reliable experiments result.

Colour

PCR plates are usually available in a variety of different color formats to facilitate visual differentiation and identification of samples, especially in high-throughput experiments. Although the color of the plastic has no effect on DNA amplification, when setting up real-time PCR reactions, we recommend using white plastic consumables or frosted plastic consumables to achieve sensitive and accurate fluorescence compared to transparent consumables. White consumables improve the sensitivity and consistency of qPCR data by preventing fluorescence from refracting out of the tube. When refraction is minimized, more signal is reflected back to the detector, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, the white tube wall prevents the fluorescent signal from being transmitted to the PCR instrument module, avoiding being absorbed or inconsistently reflecting the fluorescent signal, thereby minimizing the difference in repeated experiments.

Different brands of instruments, due to the different design of the position of the fluorescence detector, please refer to the manufacturer's recommended consumables. Generally, for applied biosystems PCR machines, we recommend that you use original frosted-well PCR plates. These consumables have undergone rigorous research and development tests to ensure that you get accurate and reliable experimental data. For Bio-Rad CFX or Roche 480 fluorescent quantitative PCR instrument, the manufacturer recommends using a white PCR plate.

Profile

The shape of the PCR plate refers to its height, so "low profile" means lower height. The shorter design of low-volume consumables minimizes the space above the reaction system, reduces the effect of evaporation and improves the heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, it is recommended to choose low-capacity consumables first when compatible at the same time, that is, "fast" boards or low boards.

Cut corner

The cut corner is a missing corner of the PCR plate, which depends on the instrument that needs to be adapted. The cut corner may be located at the H1, H12 or A12 position of the 96-well plate, or the A24 position of the 384-well plate.

ANSI/SBS format

In order to be compatible with different automated liquid handling high-throughput systems, PCR plates should comply with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Society of Biomolecular Sciences (SBS, now under the Laboratory Automation and Screening Society (SLAS)). The ANSI/SBS-compliant board has standard dimensions, heights, hole positions, etc., which facilitates automated processing.

Dividable board

Certain 96-well PCR plates are designed to be separable. This design allows a whole 96-well plate to be easily divided into smaller plates, which can reduce the waste of consumables and reduce costs when a whole plate is not needed. Plates with 24-hole segmentation are the most common, but 32-hole and 8-hole segmentation can also provide convenience and flexibility.

Bar code

In high-throughput experiments, PCR plates with half skirts and full skirts can be labeled with barcodes for easy recording and tracking. For safer and more reliable tracking, the barcode mark should not be scratched off and can withstand chemical attack and a certain temperature range (such as -196°C to 120°C). The location of the barcode reader may vary depending on the automation platform, in these cases, a 4-sided barcode or a custom barcode is an alternative solution.

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We have already said a lot today, I believe you now know how to choose a PCR plate. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our company's experts, we are very happy to help you.