Amersham Pharmacia's GeneQuant pro
Why buy the farm when all you need is milk? That seems to be the thinking behind the GeneQuant pro from Amersham, a spectrophotometer designed specifically for the molecular biology laboratory. No full-range spectrophotometer with UV-vis crossover, this instrument uses just the essential wavelengths needed for molecular biology: 230, 260, 280, 320, 595, and 600 nm.

Instead of reporting why each wavelength is used, it is easier to describe the GeneQuant pro by its applications. Molecular biologists need to clone nucleic acids, make libraries, and grow cells. These require readings of nucleic acids to determine purity and protein contamination, protein concentration, buffer contaminants, and cell growth. In many labs, different instruments may be used for these functions.

When monitoring cell culture density, for example, the instrument reports the raw data but makes no calculations or standard curves. The absorbance at 600 nm is reported; no calculations...

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