One such niche is real-time thermocyclers, previously reviewed in The Scientist.2 These cyclers permit researchers to monitor the thermal and optical properties of their reactions in real time, and are indispensable for quantitative PCR. Another specialty is high-throughput PCR, spurred by the rapid growth of genomics-related research. Overall, features that were once optional, such as heated lids, are now standard, and interchangeable blocks allow researchers to customize their experiments even with low-end thermal cycler models.
Although the number of companies manufacturing thermal cyclers may be on the decline, the number of options available to researchers is not. From basic laboratory PCR workhorses to real-time and high-throughput machines, the latest batch of thermal cyclers will certainly heat things up in the lab this coming year. What follows is an alphabetical round up of thermocycler providers:
The MatriCycler works by heating each sample well with a thermally conductive probe, rather than relying ...
