New 96-Well Hard-Shell® Plates from Bio-Rad Prevent Warping, Facilitate Sample Loading

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. today announced the availability of two new 96-well Hard-Shell plates for PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR). These plates add to Bio-Rad’s Hard-Shell plate offering, expanding the availability of Hard-Shell plate technology for a variety of PCR instruments. The Hard-Shell low-profile semi-skirted PCR plate is compatible with multiple instruments including the Applied Biosystems 7500 Fast and ViiA 7 real-time PCR systems. The Hard-Shell 96-well 480 PCR plate is designed and optimized specifically for the Roche LightCycler 480 System.

The patented Hard-Shell technology prevents plate warping that often occurs during thermal cycling. The two-component Hard-Shell microplate design incorporates a polycarbonate shell with superior stability and flatness, which is ideal for heat sealing methods. The extremely uniform wells made from virgin polypropylene help reduce well-to-well variability in real-time PCR experiments. In addition, black alphanumeric lettering facilitates sample loading by making it easier to identify different wells in your PCR plate.

PCR plastics hold samples throughout the entire PCR workflow and are critical for successful experiments. The new 96-well Hard-Shell plates have undergone extensive quality control and validation, providing researchers with confidence in their plastics.