In September, The Scientist conducted a brief survey of our readers to identify product trends and developments in life science reagents and kits. More than 400 life-science researchers replied, telling us how they use reagents and kits and the factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
Most respondents use life-science reagents and kits for DNA isolation/purification and PCR applications. (Multioption question: one respondent may have selected more than one option.)
The top factors respondents look for when purchasing reagents and kits are reliability, accuracy, and consistency. (Multioption question: one respondent may have selected more than one option.)
When purchasing a kit, respondents consider a variety of factors related to usage, cost, and flexibility. (Multioption question: one respondent may have selected more than one option.)
Although almost a third of respondents have not encountered technical issues when using kits, almost as many report issues with shelf life and experimental variability. (Multioption question: one respondent may have selected more than one option.)
