NanoDrop Microvolume Spectrophotometers Instruments

The Thermo Scientific NanoDrop Ultra Spectrophotometers are compact, stand-alone UV-visible spectrophotometers for measurement of highly concentrated samples without the need for dilution across a wide variety of analytes. A glove-compatible touchscreen offers easy access to preloaded software applications and enables purity and concentration assessments in seconds. Built-in Thermo Scientific Acclaro Sample Intelligence technology helps identify and correct for the contaminants present.

The NanoDrop Ultra introduces a suite of innovative features designed to enhance your laboratory workflow. Key highlights include an integrated qPCR calculator that precisely determines the sample volume required for downstream applications, and the optional Acclaro Pro software, which incorporates an advanced algorithm for highly accurate quantification of concentrated samples. Additionally, a diagnostic scheduler alerts you when a diagnostic test is due, ensuring consistent performance. These, along with numerous other cutting-edge features, make the NanoDrop Ultra an indispensable tool for modern laboratories.

The compact Thermo Scientific NanoDrop Eight Spectrophotometer measures eight samples at a time in less than 20 seconds. It is an ideal choice for pharma/biotech and academic researchers needing a higher throughput capacity for measuring nucleic acid and protein samples. NanoDrop Eight software identifies sample contaminants and reports true sample concentration with the built-in Thermo Scientific Acclaro Sample Intelligence technology.

The affordable Thermo Scientific NanoDrop Lite Plus Microvolume Spectrophotometer enables any lab to easily assess purified DNA, RNA, and protein concentrations and purity ratios. While this entry-level unit offers fewer features than our premium models, it delivers the same fast, accurate, reliable measurements synonymous with the NanoDrop platform. The easy-to-use, affordable package is a great option for teachers and researchers.

In addition to UV-Vis absorbance, another technology often used to quantify nucleic acids or proteins is fluorometry, in which samples are stained with a fluorescent dye highly specific to the analyte of interest. Invitrogen Qubit Fluorometers use this method to quantify DNA, RNA, and protein.

Which is better? It depends on your application and the needs of your laboratory. If you need sample qualification or purity ratios, you’ll want a NanoDrop spectrophotometer. If you have very dilute or difficult-to-process samples, you'll want a Qubit fluorometer. In some circumstances, you may want both.

The table shows key differences between the two technologies. For a more comprehensive comparison, see our RNA/DNA quantification page.

If you need both highly sensitive nucleic acid or protein quantitation and assessments of sample purity, a NanoDrop Ultra Spectrophotometer and Fluorometer would be a great fit for your lab.

For example, if your lab workflow includes qPCR assays, you will need accurate template quantitation and contaminant identification to comply with MIQE guidelines, required by many scientific journals. As shown in the video, insufficient template can lead to inaccurate results. Using a NanoDrop Ultra Spectrophotometer and Fluorometer can give you a more complete picture of input RNA quantity, purity, and integrity.

For customers working in higher throughput environments, the combination of the NanoDrop Eight and Qubit Flex offer the same level of detail needed but with the added ability to process 8 samples at a time.