Thermal Cyclers 

I bought a new Techne Thermal Cycler and need help in changing the fuses.
For directions click here

How long has Techne been making Thermal Cyclers?
Experience in thermal cycler manufacturing since 1987, ensures that Techne Thermal Cyclers provide guaranteed performance and quality results, every time.

Can I transfer protocols from other brands to Techne thermal cyclers?
Yes, all Techne cyclers have adjustable ramp speed.

I have transferred a protocol from another brand of Thermal Cycler to a Techne Thermal Cycler.  Why am I not getting a good yield from my Techne unit?
There could be several possibilities. One important thing to remember is that there could be a slight temperature difference between any two Thermal Cyclers.  Optimizing temperature and hold time may be necessary.  Most of the time, adjusting the ramp speed (temperature characteristics: heating and cooling rates) on the Techne Thermal Cycler to match the ramp speed of your older unit would resolve the problem.

Do I need to have a final 4°C hold temperature?
Most Thermal Cyclers use peltier elements to heat and cool the block.  To extend the life of your block we recommend a final hold temperature above 10°C or disabling the final hold segment especially when holding over night or weekends.  As peltiers are solid state devices, they are prone to drift with age which results in block non-uniformity.  Techne can perform a Thermal cycler thermal validation on any make or model to gain some early insight into possible problems. Visit our calibration page at  http://www.techneusa.com/support/thermalcycler.htm or for more details on this service!

Can TC-512 be used to do melting point analysis?
To generate melting point curves, you need real time PCR machine.  TC-512 is a gradient cycler.  It doesn’t have the ability to do real time PCR

For In-situ PCR should the heated lid be disabled?
In-situ PCR is performed on a special heating block that is capable of holding glass slides.  It depends on your protocol and it’s up to do if you would like to enable or disable the heated lid.  For most in-situ PCR, heated lid is turned off.

TC512 was used to run a 12 degree gradient to find the annealing temperature of a tricky primer.  The annealing temperature from running a gradient was found to be 59.7 C; the PCR was run by setting the annealing temperature to 60C.  The result didn’t show any bands, why?  What should I do?
There are several possibilities.  One thing that might have caused this type of result could be that you forgot to add the primer or an important enzyme.  Another thing could be that the concentration is not the same. 
0.3C degrees could make a lot of difference if you are doing a long PCR.  What you should do now is run the PCR again carefully adding all the enzymes.  If you see the same results, then run another gradient (tighter 4C gradient) and use that annealing temperature to run your PCR.

I am using a non skirted plate (96x.2ml) to run my PCR reaction in TC412. The volume in certain places is 20 ul and in others it is 25 ul.  Would this difference in volume make a difference in the PCR reaction?  Also, do I need to enter the volume somewhere in the program?
No, the different volume in the plate would not make a difference in your PCR reaction.  You should always use half skirted or non skirted plates with Techne’s Thermal Cyclers to get a good PCR result.  Full skirted plate would not give you a good PCR result.  Any PCR plate would work with Techne’s cyclers.  We recommend you use Axygen’s PCR tubes and plates. 

I am doing a PCR reaction and noticed sample condensation at the top of the tube.  Please help
There are several possibilities.  First, check that the lid is adjusted down on top of the tubes.  If not then turn the lid clockwise to adjust it down on top of the tubes.  Second, make sure you have “preheat lid” option enabled.  You can check this by viewing your program.  If you are having trouble, please contact us at 1-800-225-9243 (313)

I am trying to decrement the temperature 0.5°C for 20 cycles.  How should I do it?
The procedure is very simple. 
Step 1: Highlight the segment and press enter
Step 2: Press pause; prompt line will change between         change seg?        Yes/No
Step 3: Press enter to choose yes
Step 4: Press up arrow; (the seg will change to fst) edit your temperature, press enter and then come down by pressing the down arrow
Step 5: The second line would read lst; edit the temperature and time and press enter; fst meaning first and lst meaning last. 
The final result would like this
Seg         Temperature                       Time                       Ramp Speed
fst            68°C                                       0m30                     max
lst            58°C                                       0m30                            

I am getting an error message on my Thermal Cycler screen.  What should I do?
Please note down the error message and call our service department (1-800-225-9243 ext. 373) to resolve the problem.

Spectrophotometers

My Genova Life Science Analyzer is experiencing an error message during start-up; what do I do?
Error message is "operating parameter failure" - Simple press "enter" and the instrument will continue test
Error message is "dark level test" - if lid is open during start up test, this message will appear.  Simply close the lid and re-start.
Error message is "wavelength calibration failure" - there are actually a few simple reasons why this will appear:
a: Lid is opened during test - close lid and restart
b: Cuvette is in cuvette holder- take out cuvette, close lid and restart
c: Platform holding cuvette holder is loose or not properly aligned - this could have occurred in shipping.  The platform is held in place by a large thumbscrew on the underside of the cuvette chamber.  Loosen screw, ensure that the platform is sitting tightly and evenly and tighten screw.  Close lid and restart.
IMPORTANT - Ensure that nothing is in sample chamber and lid is closed during start- up
If this does not help, then it needs to be serviced.  Please call 800-225-9243 (374)

Why am I getting an error message (error 2) / low light level in the UV mode when measuring OD.
The 100 cuvettes that come with the spectrophotometers are visible only.  In other words those cuvettes can measure only at the visible range, if you try to measure @ the UV range you will get error 2 message.  Please use the appropriate cuvette, for cuvette information please call 800-225-9243 (313)

My Genova display screen is hard to read; how can I adjust the contrast?
Go to the main Genova menu and press the left or right direction arrows for contrast adjustment.

How do I measure 260/280 ratio on 6300 and get the answer in concentration.
First calibrate the unit at 260 and measure the absorbance. Then, calibrate the unit at 280 and measure the absorbance.  Use these absorbance values and plug them into the equation to calculate the concentration.
                                Without a reference wavelength: ((Abs1 x factor 1) - (Abs2 x factor 2)) x dilution
                                Using a reference wavelength (320nm): (((Abs1 - Abs ref) x factor 1) - ((Abs2 - Abs ref) x factor 2)) x dilution

Hybridization Ovens

The mini tubes used for blotting techniques needs to be autoclaved at 300 C.  Can I autoclave them?
Yes, the tubes can be autoclaved (please take the plastic caps off before you autoclave the tubes; plastic caps can not be autoclaved)

I want to know if the HB-1D is capable of both northern blotting and in situ hybridization.
Yes, HB-1D can be used for in situ hybridization.  In addition to in situ hybridization, it is used for Southern blots, Northern blots, Western blots, Dot blots, and Slot blots.  The temperature range for HB-1D is 10C above ambient to 100C.   

What is the temperature stability around 65C on HB-1D.
The stability (in tubes) across the entire range (10C above ambient to 100C) is <± 0.1°C.  HB-1D features an extremely uniform and stable temperature environment. The insulated door prevents heat loss and features a large double glass observation panel for viewing the chamber contents.

How do you control the speed?
There is a rotation control speed knob for controlling the speed.  0, 5 -20 oscillation per minute.  On older models HB-1D, the rotation speed is fixed.

Why is the minimum temperature 10°C above ambient?
It is for the internal heat of the unit.  When the unit is turned on it generates heat.

Why should I use a separation membrane?
It is recommended that you place a separation membrane if placing more than one blot in a bottle.  However, if you are placing one blot per bottle, then you don’t need a separation membrane.

How effective are the separation membranes and is it necessary to use them?
The separation membranes will eliminate the blots from coming in contact with each other which causes background black spots that are not removable. 

Cell Culture Equipments

Can I autoclave the culture vessels?
Yes, the vessels can be autoclaved. 

Miscellaneous

Why should we choose Techne?
Techne offers you the flexibility you need with the quality you expect from an established world leader in temperature control instrumentation.  Our company goal is to provide maximum benefit to our customers; our more than 57 years of successful history proves it.  Our strongly motivated customer support team offers outstanding service and best available products to the customers.

I would like to become an OEM, original equipment manufacturer, customer; what should I do?
OEMs are not the original manufacturers -- they are the customizers of a particular product.  You can either get the product with Techne’s label (customize it on your own) or with a customized label (done by Techne) with your company’s name/logo on it. There is a minimum order of 10 units.  You can do a blanket order of 10 and the units will be shipped according to the need.  Please call us for more information or assistance.