Thermo's range of microcentrifuges raises the bar significantly on a technology that has been around for approximately 80 years and has a wealth of manufacturers providing microcentrifuge equipment for drug R&D.
Whilst Thermo arguably remain the industry leader, Eppendorf, Qiagen and Mettler Toledo are gaining ground with the prospect of a four-way battle for control of this highly lucrative market.
A microcentrifuge is a mechanical device that uses centrifugal force, created by high-speed horizontal rotation, to separate materials of different densities in microcentrifuge tubes.
This action will separate solids from liquids or liquids from other liquids. The particles that have more density than others will move along the length of the microcentrifuge tubes to a greater radius of rotation.
The lighter particles will be displaced at the other end of the microcentrifuge tubes.
The four new models, the ventilated Heraeus Pico are available in a 17,000 x g version and a brand new 21,000-x g version, and the refrigerated Heraeus Fresco, also available in both 17,000 x g and 21,000 x g models.
The Heraeus Pico & Fresco microcentrifuges offer researchers flexibility and throughput by providing a wide range of rotors, that support the sample formats that include hematocrit tubes to open mini-preps.
A feature of thermo's microcentrifuges includes the "click-close" bio-containment lid system, which ensures user safety.
Combined with the large digital display, the Heraeus Pico & Fresco microcentrifuges provide a suitable solution for micro-volume protocols such as nucleic acid preparation, protein isolation and reaction set-up.
For increased throughput the Heraeus Pico & Fresco microcentrifuges provide acceleration and deceleration rates on all models.
Additional features of the systems include the use of a broad rotor set that incorporates a new 18-place dual-row rotor. The rotor accepts 2.0 ml and 0.5 ml tubes which eliminates the need for rotor changes.
Delicate samples can be spun on all models and for precise temperature control, the Heraeus Fresco 17 and Heraeus Fresco 21 feature efficient refrigeration systems that maintain temperatures between -9°C and +40°C in 1°C increments.