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

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.”

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