The PR4010-500 is the 500-lane bulk pack of the Accuris SmartCheck 100 bp DNA Ladder — the workhorse general-purpose ladder for sizing mid-range PCR products on agarose gels. Ships as 5 × 500 µL tubes at 0.1 mg/mL in a ready-to-use formulation with loading buffer and tracking dye already included — direct-load on the gel, no operator dilution or loading-dye supplementation. The 100 bp ladder is the most-used member of the SmartCheck DNA-ladder family — the right ladder for the majority of routine molecular-biology bench workflows.
Key Specifications
| SKU | PR4010-500 |
| Type | DNA ladder — 100 bp resolution, ready-to-use |
| Pack format | 5 × 500 µL tubes (500 lanes total) |
| Ladder concentration | 0.1 mg/mL |
| Formulation | Pre-mixed with loading buffer and tracking dye — direct-load on the gel |
| Resolution / band spacing | 100 bp |
| Sizing range optimum | Routine PCR products in the 100 bp – ~3 kb range |
| Purification | Multistep chromatography for clear, distinct bands with increased intensity |
| Smaller pack sister | PR4010-100 (100 lanes — same ladder, smaller pack) |
| Resolution sisters | PR4005 (50 bp ladder), PR4100 (1 kb ladder) |
| Returns | Non-returnable — perishable reagent per Accuris reagent-return policy |
Why the 100 bp Ladder is the Workhorse Pick
The 100 bp ladder is the default ladder for most routine PCR-product workflows — sizing PCR products in the 100 bp – 3,000 bp range covers the majority of molecular-biology amplicons (gene-fragment PCR, colony PCR, genotyping PCR, expression-construct cloning fragments, environmental and microbial PCR). The 100 bp band-spacing is fine enough to distinguish closely-sized amplicons without the over-resolution of the 50 bp ladder for routine sizing.
| Workflow | Typical PCR-product size | Right ladder |
| Colony PCR (cloning verification) | 200–2,000 bp | 100 bp |
| Gene-fragment cloning | 500–3,000 bp | 100 bp (or 1 kb for the largest) |
| Genotyping PCR | 100–500 bp | 100 bp (or 50 bp for tightest spacing) |
| Microsatellite / STR | 50–500 bp | 50 bp (PR4005) — finer resolution |
| Plasmid linearization | 2–10 kb | 1 kb (PR4100) |
For benches that run a single ladder across the majority of their PCR work, the PR4010 100 bp ladder is the right primary stock; the PR4005 50 bp and PR4100 1 kb ladders supplement when the fragment-size range falls outside the 100 bp ladder's optimum.
SmartCheck DNA Ladder Family — Resolution Map
| Ladder | Resolution | Sizing range optimum | When to pick |
| PR4005 — 50 bp | 50 bp band increments | Short fragments (50 bp – 1 kb) | Microsatellite / STR, short amplicons, tight band spacing |
| PR4010 (this product's family) — 100 bp | 100 bp band increments | 100 bp – ~3 kb | Workhorse routine PCR-product sizing |
| PR4100 — 1 kb | 1 kb band increments | ~0.5 kb – 10 kb | Plasmid linearization, large PCR products, large restriction fragments |
Pack-Size Economics — 100 vs 500 Lane
The SmartCheck 100 bp ladder ships in two pack sizes:
| Pack | Volume | Lanes | When to pick |
| PR4010-100 | 1 × 500 µL | 100 lanes | Lower-volume use — research benches running PCR gels intermittently, or labs preferring smaller-pack inventory turnover |
| PR4010-500 (this product) | 5 × 500 µL | 500 lanes | High-volume workflows — production PCR analysis, teaching labs, multi-bench institutional procurement where bulk-pack per-lane economics apply |
For benches running PCR gels on a recurring weekly cadence, the 500-lane pack is the per-lane economic pick.
Ready-to-Use Formulation
Per the Accuris Life Science Reagents Catalog: the SmartCheck DNA Ladder ships pre-mixed with loading buffer and tracking dye, supplied at 0.1 mg/mL in storage buffer. The tube is ready to load directly onto the gel — no operator-side loading-dye supplementation required. The tracking dye migrates alongside the DNA fragments to indicate run progress.
Quality Attributes
Multistep chromatography purification. Clear, distinct bands with increased intensity for easy size determination on the gel image — addressing the smearing or fuzzy-band issues common with low-cost ladder products.
Storage stability. Per Accuris ladder storage practice — typically –20 °C with limited freeze-thaw tolerance. The 5-tube pack format supports rotating one tube into active use while keeping the rest in deep storage.
Application Profile
Routine PCR-product sizing — the workhorse application: PCR products in the 100–3,000 bp range across colony PCR, gene-fragment PCR, expression-construct verification.
Cloning verification — verifying insert-size in cloning workflows where the fragment is in the 100–3,000 bp range.
Restriction-digest analysis — sizing restriction fragments in the mid-size range from plasmid digests.
Diagnostic and pathogen-detection PCR sizing — diagnostic amplicon-sizing workflows in the 100–3,000 bp range.
Educational and teaching labs — undergraduate molecular-biology teaching where the 100 bp ladder is the curriculum-standard ladder.
High-throughput cohort gels — institutional throughput workflows where the 500-lane pack supports many samples per gel.
Ordering & Configuration
Storage & handling. Per Accuris ladder kit instructions — typical –20 °C storage with limited freeze-thaw cycle tolerance.
Returns. Per the universe price-list category header: reagent products including DNA ladders are non-returnable due to perishable nature.
Confirm at quote: ladder resolution match (100 bp ladder is the right pick for most routine PCR work), pack size (100 vs 500 lane based on workflow throughput), shipping conditions (cold-chain), and lead time.
Warranty: Per Accuris Life Science Reagents standard kit terms — confirm at quote.
Accuris SmartCheck DNA Ladder family:
- PR4005-100 / PR4005-500 — 50 bp ladder (short-fragment, high-resolution)
- PR4010-500 (this product) — 100 bp ladder, 500 lanes (workhorse)
- PR4010-100 — 100 bp ladder, 100 lanes (smaller pack)
- PR4100-100 / PR4100-500 — 1 kb ladder (large-fragment)
The 100 bp ladder is the right primary-stock pick for benches running routine PCR work; supplement with 50 bp ladder for short-fragment / microsatellite analysis and 1 kb ladder for plasmid and large-fragment work.
