Instrument: PCR Thermal Cycler

Acronym:
 Thermal Cycler
External Identifier:
» skos:closeMatch http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OBI_0400116
Description

A thermal cycler or "thermocycler" is a general term for a type of laboratory apparatus, commonly used for performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR), that is capable of repeatedly altering and maintaining specific temperatures for defined periods of time. The device has a thermal block with holes where tubes with the PCR reaction mixtures can be inserted. The cycler then raises and lowers the temperature of the block in discrete, pre-programmed steps.

(adapted from http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_methods/genomics/pcr.html)