Corbett Style PCR Tubes

What are Corbett-style PCR Tubes?

Corbett-style PCR tubes are 0.1 mL thin-wall polypropylene tube strips in a 4-tube format specifically designed for the circular rotor of QIAGEN/Corbett Rotor-Gene instruments. Unlike standard 8-strip tubes designed for rectangular 96-well blocks, Corbett-style 4-strip tubes seat into the 72-well circular rotor of Rotor-Gene Q, 6000, and 3000 models, where centrifugal force distributes the reaction evenly across the tube during thermal cycling. They are the instrument-specific consumables for Rotor-Gene qPCR and cannot be substituted with standard strip tubes. Tube and cap strips are packaged separately in the same bag for independent handling and labelling.  Corbett-style 4-strips are the only strip format that seats correctly in the Rotor-Gene 72-well rotor — do not substitute 8-strip tubes.

What you will find:

• 0.1 mL Corbett style 4-strip PCR tubes for Rotor-Gene systems

• Matching 4-strip caps for secure sealing

• Optical clear strip tubes for real-time PCR detection

• Thin-wall polypropylene tubes for fast heat transfer

• DNase- and RNase-free PCR strip tubes for clean reactions

• Low-profile strip formats for efficient cycling performance

• qPCR-compatible strip tubes for fluorescence-based assays

• Pre-attached cap strip options for faster workflow setup

How to Choose Corbett Style PCR Tubes

Instrument Generation
Corbett-style tubes are compatible across QIAGEN Rotor-Gene Q (current), Corbett Rotor-Gene 6000, Rotor-Gene 3000, and earlier models that all use the 72-well circular rotor. Confirm your rotor model (72-well vs 36-well) before ordering; the 36-well rotor uses 0.2 mL tubes, not 0.1 mL 4-strips.

Cap Transparency
Optically clear caps are standard and required for qPCR fluorescence detection (SYBR Green, FAM, ROX, Cy5, and other dye channels). Frosted-extension caps with clear tips combine a writeable label area with optical clarity at the tube bottom — useful for batch identification.

Tube and Cap Packaging Separately
Tube strips and cap strips are packaged in separate bags within the same unit. This allows caps to be removed without disturbing the tubes — particularly important when using the QIAgility liquid handler for automated setup on the Rotor-Gene platform.

Purity and Material
Specify tubes manufactured from virgin medical-grade polypropylene, certified DNase-free, RNase-free, human DNA-free, endotoxin-free, and PCR inhibitor-free. Roentgen (X-ray) transparent designation is sometimes listed — relevant for labs that scan tubes for secondary QC.

Specifications Context

Corbett-style 4-strip tubes have a 0.1 mL (100 µL) total volume with a working volume of 10–50 µL as specified by QIAGEN for Rotor-Gene Q protocols. The polypropylene body is optically transparent, provides no background fluorescence, and is certified free of DNase, RNase, DNA, endotoxin, and PCR inhibitors per independent lot testing. Axygen (Corning) PCR-0104-C, SSI Bio Corbett-type strips, and equivalent third-party formats are widely distributed alternatives to QIAGEN OEM strips and offer equivalent performance at lower cost. 

Check compatibility and availability with the MBP team to ensure the right fit for your Rotor-Gene workflow.