DD CEN ISO/TS 20836:2005

Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of food-borne pathogens. Performance testing of thermal cyclers. | Status: Superseded, Withdrawn

1 Scope This Technical Specification provides basic requirements for the installation, performance and maintenance of thermal cyclers. Although thermal cyclers are robust technical equipment, they do require regular maintenance. Their cooling/heating elements, either Peltier or other technology, have a limited lifetime. Proper functioning of the cooling/heating element depends both on the quality of the cooling/heating devices and proper use and care. In addition to outlining the requirement for a defined maintenance programme, procedures are described for the determination of thermal cycler performance by biochemical or physical methods (see Annexes A and B).