Laboratory professionals require high-quality products to support their day-to-day work – from test tubes and reagents, to freezers and fume hoods, to analytical instruments and software, there are countless product offerings to consider in every category when upgrading and expanding your laboratory’s toolkit. Factors such as speed, safety, ease-of-use, capacity, resolution and maintenance requirements are just some of the qualities buyers may research when purchasing consumables and equipment – but how can one know if a product will truly perform as expected once it’s brought into the lab?
Labcompare reviews are a resource that allows scientists to gain insight from the experiences of their colleagues; our verified reviewers provide honest feedback on the performance of products they use in their own lab work and research. By highlighting the strengths, limitations, applications and/or special features of a product through firsthand experience, these reviews help readers make informed decisions when selecting products for their own lab.
Over the past year, Labcompare has published more than 400 reviews spanning dozens of categories and applications; here are 10 of the top 5-star reviews of 2022 that highlight the products our readers recommend.
Michael Keefe, CEO of Kemp Proteins, calls the HV-100 autoclave from Amerex Instruments “one of the best autoclaves on the market.” Keefe, who has three of these autoclaves in his laboratory, describes the instruments as versatile, portable “workhorses” that never break down. Additionally, this review highlights the great customer support provided by Amerex.
Lenin Veeraval, a graduate student at the University of Queensland, uses the SRT6D model Roller Mixer from Stuart, which has a maximum rotation speed of 60 RPM, for antibody conjugation reactions in Western blot and immunoprecipitation experiments. In addition to being quiet and easy to clean, the instrument is also robust, and still “working rock solid” after being operated in a refrigerator at 4°C for more than a year, Veeraval wrote.
In this 5-star review, Eleanor Fitzgerald, a laboratory technician at Adaptix Ltd, raves about the “robust and reliable” nXDS10i Dry Scroll Pump from Edwards – with more than 10 of these pumps running “almost 24/7” at Fitzgerald’s lab, these products help achieve ultra high vacuum conditions for product component testing applications. Fitzgerald highlights the pumps’ ease of use, the free software that provides live data as the pumps are running and the “outstanding” customer service from the Edwards team. While the pumps are heavy and can be noisy, the noise is easily reduced with the use of a muffler, Fitzgerald notes.
Scientists are trained in many skills from sample handling, to performing complex analytical experiments, to analyzing troves of data; one ability not all scientists are equipped with, however, is excellent graphic design skill. However, the ability to craft high-quality graphical visualizations in order to present certain concepts and research findings is important for many laboratory professionals, such as academic researchers. Reviewer Vincent Giacalone, a graduate student at Emory University, said he would rate his own graphic design skills as “a 1/10,” but that BioRender enables him to create “publication-grade” figures ranging from very simple to very complex schematics and diagrams. Giacalone finds the program’s extensive library of premade icons to be especially useful and notes that the licensing options for BioRender are well-priced compared to similar software. Included in the review is a complex summary figure Giacalone was able to create in just an hour using the program.
For analysts looking for an advanced, customizable ion chromatography (IC) instrument, Madeline Cooke, a scientist at Steep Hill, recommends the 940 Professional IC Vario from Metrohm. In her review, Cooke boasts about the many add-ons and capabilities available with this instrument, as well as the support of Metrohm product specialists who can aid with method development and troubleshooting difficulties such as matrix effects. Cooke also describes the IC as a great choice for research and development laboratories.
“If you are looking for an IC that can quantify more than just the basic anions, this is the one you need,” Cooke wrote.
Kevin Romanak, a lab manager at Indiana University, writes that he was so impressed by the performance of the N-EVAP 112 that his lab purchased a second one two years after acquiring their first. After several years, both instruments are still “working flawlessly,” according to Romanak. The review highlights the ease of switching samples thanks to the instrument’s “well thought out and elegant” carousel design, and also noted the usefulness of the optional pipet tip attachments, which allow his team to concentrate acidic samples without corrosion. Romanak’s lab uses the N-EVAP to concentrate solvents for trace environmental analysis.
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