What is the Quantus™ Fluorometer?
The Quantus™ Fluorometer is an easy-to-use and affordable single-tube fluorometer. The compact instrument offers intuitive navigation and a large 3-inch liquid crystal display screen. The fluorometer is preprogrammed with protocols for single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA and RNA quantitation using the QuantiFluor® Dyes but is also compatible with other fluorescent assays.
What are the excitation and emission wavelengths?
The Quantus™ Fluorometer is equipped with two fluorescence channels for nucleic acid and protein quantitation:
Blue fluorescence channel: Excitation 495nm shortpass (wavelengths up to 495nm), emission 510–580nm.
Red fluorescence channel: Excitation 640nm shortpass (wavelengths up to 640nm), emission 660–720nm.
How sensitive is the Quantus™ Fluorometer?
When used with the QuantiFluor® Dyes, the Quantus™ Fluorometer provides sensitivities that are up to 40,000 times higher than that of absorbance-based quantitation, depending on the assay used. As little as 50pg/ml dsDNA can be detected using the standard QuantiFluor® dsDNA Dye protocol. Custom protocols can be created to detect even lower amounts (as little as 1pg/ml dsDNA). The instrument has a linear range that encompasses five orders of magnitude.
Is a computer required to use the Quantus™ Fluorometer?
No. The Quantus™ Fluorometer is designed to operate as a standalone instrument. The Quantus™ Fluorometer displays fluorescence measurements in real time but also saves and displays the 50 most recent measurements in the results history. However, the fluorometer can be connected to a computer to transfer data in real time after installing the free Quantus™ Software. To download the software, visit the Quantus™ Software download page.
What are the operating system requirements for the optional Quantus™ Software?
To download and use the Quantus™ Software, your computer must have the Windows®10, Windows® 8 or Windows® 7 (32- or 64-bit) operating system, a .NET Framework 4.0 or later and at least one USB port available.
What tubes are compatible with the Quantus™ Fluorometer?
The Quantus™ Fluorometer accepts 0.5ml PCR tubes. We recommend thin-walled PCR tubes (Axygen thin-walled PCR tubes, Axygen Cat.# PCR-05-C, available from Fisher or VWR) for the best optical clarity.
What are the power requirements for the Quantus™ Fluorometer?
The fluorometer requires a power source of 5V, 0.2A maximum. The Quantus™ Fluorometer is supplied with a USB Cord to plug the instrument in to a computer and a USB Power Supply and Outlet Adapter Kit, which includes four adapters, to plug the instrument in to the wall outlet.
How do I calibrate the Quantus™ Fluorometer, and how often should I recalibrate the instrument?
To calibrate, simply measure the fluorescence of your blank sample and the standard that represents the highest point on your standard curve. The Quantus™ Fluorometer saves the calibration data for future measurements. The fluorometer must be calibrated prior to the first use of a protocol. If a protocol that has never been calibrated is selected, the Calibration screen will appear automatically. Once the protocol of interest is calibrated, the Quantus™ Fluorometer will save the calibration values for future use and will not require recalibration. However, we recommend performing a calibration with each new lot of dye reagent to ensure the most accurate measurement.
Does purchase of the Quantus™ Fluorometer include a warranty?
Yes. The Quantus™ Fluorometer comes with a 1-year warranty upon purchase of the instrument. Warranty coverage includes all parts, labor and shipping to and from the repair location.
QuantiFluor is a registered trademark of Promega Corporation. Quantus is a trademark of Promega Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.