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Whitepaper

Eppendorf Mastercycler® Pro*: Improved Protection Against Evaporation of Reaction Solution

The new heated lid technology, vapo.protect™, featured by the Eppendorf Mastercycler pro, achieves improved evaporation protection even at the corner and edge positions of the thermoblock.

by Eppendorf

Abstract:

The new heated lid technology, vapo.protect™, featured by the Eppendorf Mastercycler pro, achieves improved evaporation protection even at the corner and edge positions of the thermoblock. The tighter sealing of the newly developed fluid filled cushion incorporated in the heated lid, leads to an improved evaporation protection. With its demonstrated minimization of technical variance on PCR**, the Mastercycler pro makes a significant contribution to higher comparability and reproducibility.

Synopsis:

A major criterion for efficient and robust PCR is the minimization of evaporation of the sample volume. There are various sealing methods such as tube caps, adhesive tape or foil, or heat-sealing film or foil that are used to combat evaporation. The successful sealing of the reaction vessel is highly dependent on the correct intensity and uniformity of the pressure applied by the lid of the thermocycler. In order to test the effectiveness of the new vapo.protect™ heated lid technology of the Mastercycler pro, the same PCR reaction was performed on the Mastercycler pro as well as five other thermocyclers. All reactions were identical; this includes the same 96-well plate, same sealing method, same reaction, and the same protocol was followed. The results clearly show a marked reduction of evaporation with the Mastercycler pro in comparison to the other five thermocyclers. There was an observed evaporation of 0-3% with the Mastercycler pro in comparison to 30% or greater evaporation seen with the other thermocyclers (Table 1 and Figure 1). The data presented in this report highlights the significance of improved evaporation protection provided by the Mastercycler pro with regards to obtaining optimal and reproducible PCR conditions.