11 top-rated lab products: Meet our new Seal of Quality winners

From pipettes to incubators, DNA kits and more, we reveal the latest products to earn these coveted awards based on exceptional reviewer feedback

7 Sept 2021

Ellen Simms

Product and Reviews Editor

Editorial article

There are four levels of Seal of Quality — Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze — which are allocated to products based on the number of reviews they receive from scientists and the average rating of those reviews

The latest laboratory instruments to earn a prized Seal of Quality have been announced in recognition of outstanding feedback received from scientists globally.

Seals of Quality recognize the top 0.1% of products that consistently receive the highest customer review ratings on SelectScience® and are designed to help scientists and healthcare professionals worldwide see at a glance the instruments and services their peers rate the highest.

Golden game changers

Among the big winners is the Precellys^® Evolution tissue homogenizer by Bertin Instruments, which scoops a Gold Seal of Quality, having received more than 120 reviews from scientists around the world at an average overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Precellys^® Evolution tissue homogenizer is designed for optimal robustness, safety, efficiency and flexibility, and users have been impressed. Rachael Bradley, from the University of California, San Francisco, left this review in July: “Our lab loves the Precellys. It’s super easy to use and gets the job done quickly and effectively.”

Another lab product to be awarded a Gold Seal of Quality is the VIAFLO Electronic Pipette by INTEGRA Biosciences, which has received over 100 reviews at an impressive average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. A popular product with scientists around the world, this is the second Seal of Quality the VIAFLO Pipettes have achieved this year, after winning Silver in May.

The intuitive touch wheel interface and ergonomic design of the VIAFLO Pipettes enable effortless pipetting. A recent 5-star reviewer of the VIAFLO Pipettes is Jaclyn Blazy, from New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory, who describes them as “game-changer pipettes”.

It’s a double success for INTEGRA Biosciences as its VIAFLO 96 – Electronic 24 and 96 Channel Handheld Pipette also wins a new Bronze Seal of Quality, after receiving over 50 reviews at an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. INTEGRA Biosciences now has four products sporting a prized Seal of Quality, previously achieving a Gold and Silver Seal of Quality for the VOYAGER Adjustable Tip Spacing Pipettes and ASSIST PLUS respectively.

The famous five

Another manufacturer consistently drawing rave reviews is Zymo Research, which adds further to its eye-catching tally of seven Seals of Quality.

Firstly, its Zymoclean™ Gel DNA Recovery Kit has achieved a Silver Seal of Quality, having scored a noteworthy 4.9 rating out of 5 stars from over 90 reviews. The kit is designed to provide a hassle-free method for high yield recovery of pure DNA from agarose gels, and scientists around the globe have agreed.

Casey Hooker, from the University of Delaware, comments: “This gel extraction kit enables us to reliably purify and concentrate DNA for downstream use. It is a quick and easy-to-use kit. I'd recommend this kit for anyone looking to isolate and concentrate DNA fragments for a variety of applications.”

And the success for Zymo Research continues with a further four products achieving new Bronze Seal of Quality awards. The Quick-DNA/RNA Viral MagBead, DNA Clean & Concentrator™-5, Quick-RNA™ Miniprep, and Quick-DNA™ Miniprep Plus have all received over 50 reviews with average star ratings of 4.9, 4.8, 4.8, and 4.7 out of 5 stars respectively.

The Quick-DNA/RNA Viral MagBead also won a Scientists’ Choice Award for Best New Clinical Assay/Kit 2021. These latest awards mean that Zymo Research now boasts a total of 11 products with Seals of Quality since the program was launched in 2017.

Advanced reviewer Erik Rodriguez, from The George Washington University, reviewed the DNA Clean & Concentrator™-5, commenting: “This is a great product and easy to use. Small volume elution (6 ul) is the best aspect of this product because you can concentrate DNA in dilute samples.”

Reviewer Timothy Hunt, from UCLA, offers this feedback on the Quick-DNA™ Miniprep Plus: “We've used competitors in the past and the steps are much simpler with this Zymo kit. The Quick-DNA mini prep kit provides purified contaminate-free DNA without fail.”

A ‘perfect’ analytical system

Agilent Technologies, meanwhile, has been awarded a Silver Seal of Quality for its Agilent 7890B GC System, which has now received over 75 reviews at an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Reviewer Kowsalya Devi Rasamani, from Sterling Pharma Solutions, describes the instrumentation as “easy to understand and operate even for beginners,” adding that it’s a “perfect system for analytical science.”

In addition, the Agilent Pursuit C18 (USP L1) HPLC Columns have also achieved a Bronze Seal of Quality award for receiving over 50 reviews with an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Quality incubators

Finally, the CB series of CO2 Incubators wins a Bronze Seal of Quality — the first Seal of Quality for BINDER. The CB series has received 50 reviews at a commendable average rating of 4.5 out of 5, with one recent reviewer, Adam Julien, from AxoSim, Inc., declaring: “Overall, we are very pleased with our Binder CO2 incubators. They are made of quality material and long-lasting. The customer service along with warranty repairs are very helpful and efficient. Would definitely purchase again.”

New Seals of Quality are announced quarterly — there are currently around 65 lab products permitted to display a SelectScience Seal of Quality.

SelectScience CEO, Kerry Parker, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our reviewers around the world for sharing their valuable opinions and also to congratulate these new Seal of Quality winners, who have been recognized by the people who matter most, their customers.”

Do you use any of these lab products? Share your opinion today by leaving a lab product review>>

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This product has been discontinued. See the newer version of this product linked below.
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The Zymoclean™ Gel DNA Recovery Kit provides a hassle-free method for high yield recovery of pure DNA from agarose gels.
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DNA Clean & Concentrator™-5
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VIAFLO 96 – Electronic 24 and 96 Channel Handheld Pipette
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VIAFLO 96 increases productivity of sample preparation in microplates. It is used like a standard handheld pipette. It is hand-controlled but movements are supported by motors for an effortless workflow and precise targeting of the microplate wells. The working volume range of VIAFLO 96 can be quickly adapted to the application’s requirements by changing the pipetting heads. The 24 channel heads are available in the volume ranges 10-300 µl and 50-1250 µl and the 96 channel heads in the volume ranges 0.5-12.5 µl, 2-50µl, 5–125 µl, 10–300 µl and 50–1250 µl. VIAFLO 96 benefits from the innovative GripTip system. The special pipette tips, together with the unique tip fitting, form an integral system. It guarantees tips will not fall off during pipetting and provides a reliable sealing of every tip. VIAFLO 96 can be used for sample transfers from reservoir to plate, plate to plate or within plates. Features and Benefits: • VIAFLO 96 is used like a handheld pipette and has an intuitive user interface, freeing staff from training time. • Pipetting heads can be changed for an optimal instrument adaption to different volume ranges, increasing accuracy and precision. • The innovative GripTip system provides a reliable sealing of every tip and guarantees that tips will never fall off, providing safe and reproducible assay preparation. • Various pipetting modes are available for increased productivity and application customization.
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VIAFLO Electronic Pipettes
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Electronic pipettes with touch wheel user interface. VIAFLO pipettes accommodate any pipetting task at hand: from single transfers to complex protocols. An intuitive touch wheel interface and color display allows for the quickest volume changes and user friendly menu navigation. The ergonomic design enables effortless pipetting. The unique tip fitting of the VIAFLO pipette assures that GripTip pipette tips will never loosen, leak or fall off. VIAFLO Electronic Pipettes Features: GripTip Pipette Tips - By designing our GripTips™ in tandem with VIAFLO pipettes, we have created a unique, integrated system that offers the securest pipette and pipette tip connection. High lateral resistance. This prevents tips from falling off when touching off a multichannel pipette within a 96 or 384 well plate. Low required tip attachment forces. Low required tip ejection forces. All tips seal at the same height ensuring a perfect touch off and increased precision when dispensing. Intuitive User Interface - A full color screen and a proven touch wheel interface offer quick and comprehensible menu navigation. Simply by moving a finger over the touch wheel, menus and settings can be accessed. All menus are spelled out on the clear to read screen making memorizing of abbreviations unnecessary. Convenient Pipette and Program Management - VIAFLO pipettes can be connected to a computer via USB port. With the free to use pipette management software VIALINK, custom programs can be created on the computer and then be transferred onto VIAFLO pipettes. For laboratories with many users or power users with many pipetting protocols, all custom programs can be stored and backed up in a library on the computer. Applications: Repeat Dispense Manual Pipetting Sample Dilution Reverse Pipetting Variable Dispense
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