This study evaluates the icon96, a versatile thermal control system, as a high-throughput fluorometric alternative capable of processing up to 94 samples simultaneously.

The performance of the icon96 was benchmarked against the Qubit™ 4 Fluorometer using serial dilutions of pUC19 Vector DNA. Testing was conducted using both Qubit 1X dsDNA Broad Range (BR) and High Sensitivity (HS) assays. To optimize resource efficiency, we evaluated variable reaction volumes (100, 50, 25 µl) and sample inputs ranging from 1 to 10 µl to determine the limits of detection and correlation with theoretical values. Regression analysis demonstrated high linearity (R2 > 0.99) between icon96 measurements and theoretical concentrations. The icon96 successfully maintained accuracy while reducing reagent consumption by 75% (50 µl total reaction volume vs. the standard 200 µl). Furthermore, the platform exhibited an extended dynamic range compared to the Qubit 4; the icon96 reliably quantified concentrations as low as 0.41 ng/µl in cases where the Qubit fluorometer failed to provide a reading. Both BR and HS kits showed strong correlation across varying sample inputs, specifically maintaining reliability down to 1 µl of initial sample.

The icon96 system is a highly compatible and efficient platform for Qubit-based dsDNA quantification. By enabling a more than 10-fold increase in throughput, reducing reagent costs, and preserving precious sample material, the icon96 addresses the primary bottlenecks of manual fluorometric quantification without sacrificing precision or sensitivity.

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