Plastics consumables must be robust and reliable, otherwise your experiments, trials, studies and projects are at risk. So have a look at our range of PCR plastic consumables and storage plates.

We combine precision design and the highest quality materials, with cleanroom production and extensive quality testing to bring you quality, reliable plastic products for:

• PCR.
• QPCR.
• In situ PCR and microarraying.
• Sequencing accessories.
• Storage, culture and screening plates.
• Plugs, caps/strips, seals, mats and plate covers

What is special about our plastic products?

It starts with design, continues with material and manufacturing expertise, and finishes with rigorous quality testing.

For nearly 20 years we’ve been market leaders in PCR plastic consumables. To achieve and maintain our market-leading position, our Research & Development and Manufacturing teams continue to bring you improved design and performance features including:

• Raised rims. A good seal is vital to protect your samples and prevent cross-contamination and/or sample loss through evaporation. The raised rim design of the ABgene plates provides an optimum surface for both heat and adhesive seals.
• Thin Walled Plates. By using our thin walled plates you can reduce cycle times and achieve improved sensitivty as heat is uniformly and rapidly transferred through the plate walls.
• Optically Clear Wells. Unlike frosted plates (where the uneven surface can cause inconsistent reflection and refraction from outside the tube, that can have a detrimental effect on variance) our optically clear wells have a smooth surface preventing enzymes, primers and templates from binding.
• Opaque White Plates. White plates facilitate a higher signal-to-background ratio and elimination of well-to-well cross-talk. They consistently give more sensitive results than plates with frosted wells. 

We use virgin (medical grade) polypropylene

This plastic material is:

• Non-porous. There is no sample loss through side walls, so small reaction volumes (<5μl) can be used.
• Completely Inert. Reactants are not bound to sidewalls, so yields are maximized.
• Free from Contaminants. Molding consistency and product integrity are maintained as only virgin (medical grade) polypropylene is used in our products. Our plastic waste is sent for recycling, but never used by us again. 

Our manufacturing is state-of-the-art

We manufacture over 100 million items each year in our ISO class 8 (100,000) cleanroom injection molding facility in Ashford, Kent, UK. Skilled process engineers monitor the 24/7 manufacturing process according to ISO 9000 guidelines.

As you can imagine, production of large quantities of injection-molded plastics requires the highest degree of precision - precision that comes from total control of the manufacturing process.

This control starts with our molding tools - these are designed, manufactured, operated and maintained by our manufacturing team. Our in-house quality control procedures extend to toolmaking and tool maintenance and the close relationship between tool-making and molding allows us to rapidly bring new plastic products to market.

Manufacturing in a cleanroom environment gives us additional control

It ensures that there is no particle contamination, products are free from nucleases and contaminating DNA, and are endotoxin-free so experimental results are not compromised.

As the need for gamma-irradiation is eliminated by the cleanroom manufacturing processes, our products are not brittle or discolored. Strict handling procedures avoid direct contact with products to ensure that they remain contamination-free. 

Quality control for complete peace of mind

Every hour, products are taken from each production line for detailed inspection. These are compared to standardized samples to guarantee consistency and results are recorded and archived.

So what else do we check for?

We undertake leak testing, PCR simulation cycling (for PCR plastics), electrostatic pin-hole detection, material flexibility assays, sealing performance checks and biological testing.

Endotoxin testing is performed using a LAL assay. This method is widely accepted to be the most sensitive and specific for screening human and animal drugs, biologics, medical devices and raw materials for the presence of harmful levels of endotoxin.

This extensive and thorough quality control programe ensures that when you purchase ABgene plastic consumables, you can be assured that you are buying the very highest quality products that are available in today’s marketplace.