The PR4005-500 is the 500-lane bulk pack of the Accuris SmartCheck 50 bp DNA Ladder — the 50 bp resolution ladder for sizing short-fragment DNA on agarose or polyacrylamide 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 — no operator dilution or loading-dye supplementation required before loading on the gel. Distinct from the PR4010 100 bp ladder (mid-resolution sister) and the PR4100 1 kb ladder (large-fragment sister) — the 50 bp ladder is the highest-resolution member of the SmartCheck DNA-ladder family for short-fragment analysis where 50 bp band-spacing is the appropriate sizing increment.
Key Specifications
| SKU | PR4005-500 |
| Type | DNA ladder — 50 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 | 50 bp (highest-resolution SmartCheck DNA ladder) |
| Purification | Multistep chromatography for clear, distinct bands with increased intensity |
| Smaller pack sister | PR4005-100 (100 lanes — same ladder, smaller pack) |
| Resolution sisters | PR4010 (100 bp ladder), PR4100 (1 kb ladder) |
| Returns | Non-returnable — perishable reagent per Accuris reagent-return policy |
SmartCheck DNA Ladder Family — Pick by Fragment-Size Range
| Ladder | Resolution | Sizing range optimum | When to pick |
| PR4005 (this product's family) — 50 bp | 50 bp band increments | Short-fragment DNA (e.g., 50 bp – 1 kb typical optimum) | Highest-resolution sizing — restriction-fragment analysis, short-amplicon PCR, microsatellite / STR work |
| PR4010 — 100 bp | 100 bp band increments | Mid-range fragments (typical 100 bp – ~3 kb) | Routine PCR-product sizing in the 100–3,000 bp range — the workhorse general-purpose ladder |
| PR4100 — 1 kb | 1 kb band increments | Large fragments (typical ~0.5 kb – 10 kb) | Plasmid linearization checks, large PCR products, restriction digests of plasmids and large fragments |
The 50 bp ladder is the right pick when band-spacing matters — sizing PCR products in the 50–500 bp range, distinguishing between closely-spaced restriction fragments, or visualizing short-amplicon work where 100 bp band spacing is too coarse for the analysis.
Pack-Size Economics — 100 vs 500 Lane
The SmartCheck 50 bp ladder ships in two pack sizes:
| Pack | Volume | Lanes | When to pick |
| PR4005-100 | 1 × 500 µL | 100 lanes | Lower-volume use — research benches running short-fragment gels occasionally, or labs that want a smaller pack for inventory turnover |
| PR4005-500 (this product) | 5 × 500 µL | 500 lanes | High-volume workflows — production PCR-product analysis, teaching labs running cohort gels, or institutional procurement where the bulk-pack per-lane economics matter |
The 500-lane bulk pack is the per-lane economic pick when the workflow uses the 50 bp ladder routinely.
Ready-to-Use Formulation — What's Included Per Tube
Per the Accuris Life Science Reagents Catalog: the SmartCheck DNA Ladder ships pre-mixed with loading buffer and tracking dye, supplied in storage buffer at 0.1 mg/mL. The tube is ready to load directly onto the gel — no additional loading-dye preparation, no dilution step, no separate gel-loading buffer to combine with the ladder. The tracking dye runs alongside the DNA fragments to indicate run progress.
Key Quality Attributes
Multistep chromatography purification. The ladder is purified by multistep chromatography to produce clear, distinct bands with increased intensity for easy size determination on the gel image. Dirty or smearing ladders are a recurring complaint with low-cost ladder products; chromatography purification addresses that.
Direct-load formulation. Loading-buffer-and-tracking-dye-included reduces operator pipetting and reduces the chance of operator error in loading-dye supplementation.
Storage stability. Per Accuris ladder storage practice — typically –20 °C with limited freeze-thaw tolerance. The 5 × 500 µL pack format supports the lab keeping one tube in active rotation at –20 °C while the others remain in deep storage.
Application Profile
Short-amplicon PCR product sizing — sizing PCR products in the 50–500 bp range where 50 bp band-spacing distinguishes between closely-sized amplicons.
Microsatellite / STR genotyping (gel-based) — sizing short tandem-repeat allele bands on agarose or polyacrylamide gels where allele increments are 4–12 bp and a high-resolution ladder is essential.
Restriction-digest fragment sizing — sizing small restriction fragments where 100 bp ladders are too coarse to distinguish bands.
Quality-control electrophoresis — routine QC of PCR primers, short-amplicon kits, and short-DNA reagent stocks where the 50 bp ladder is the fit-for-purpose sizing tool.
Educational electrophoresis labs — undergraduate molecular-biology teaching where short-fragment electrophoresis is part of the curriculum and the 500-lane bulk pack supports cohort-scale teaching.
Forensic and clinical short-fragment analysis — research workflows in forensic and clinical labs where short-DNA fragment sizing is the readout.
Ordering & Configuration
Storage & handling. Per Accuris ladder kit instructions — typical –20 °C storage with limited freeze-thaw cycle tolerance. The 5-tube pack format supports rotating one tube into active use while keeping the others in deep storage.
Returns. Per the universe price-list category header: reagent products including DNA ladders are non-returnable due to perishable nature. Quote and order with confidence in the workflow and pack-size choice.
Confirm at quote: ladder resolution match (50 bp vs 100 bp vs 1 kb based on workflow fragment-size range), 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:
- PR4005-500 (this product) — 50 bp ladder, 500 lanes
- PR4005-100 — 50 bp ladder, 100 lanes (smaller pack)
- PR4010-100 / PR4010-500 — 100 bp ladder (mid-range sizing)
- PR4100-100 / PR4100-500 — 1 kb ladder (large-fragment sizing)
Pick by fragment-size range: 50 bp ladder for short fragments (50–500 bp), 100 bp ladder for routine PCR-product sizing (100–3,000 bp), 1 kb ladder for large fragments and plasmid work (~0.5–10 kb).
