We’ve sifted through the gazillion (I believe that’s 1×10^56) apps out there to find some awesome (and Free, just like Quartzy) apps that will actually help you at the bench! Check ‘em out:
Basic app for calculating molarity and for creating stock solutions. Also available in a Pro version for $1.99 which includes pH calculations, PPM to molarity conversions and g-force determinations. If you’re looking for a simple no-frills app, this one’s for you.
From the company that popularized the reagent kit comes this bench companion. Also basic, but quite powerful. You can do Molarity calculations, dilutions, and unit conversions. Some of the fancier features include the ability to get specifications on commonly used cell culture equipment likethe confluent density in a 6 well plate (though they only show the confluent density for HeLa cells). Another cool thing, though more useful for chemists than for life scientists, is the “Formula Weight” calculator, where you can actually type in a linear formula (I tried to trick it by typing “CO” and comparing to “Co”, but it knew the difference) and it will tell you the formula weight. One nice thing to see in the future would be for the calculators to interact, so, for example, you could bring the result of the formula weight into the molarity calculation. Otherwise, good job.
If you are doing molecular cloning, this app is pretty awesome. It’s also available on the iPhone. You can use it for just about every step in the cloning process, from enzyme selection to ligation and transformation of competent cells. And of course, because it’s made by Life Technologies, they want you to buy their stuff, so every enzyme or competent cell kit can punch you out to a shopping cart on their website. One thing I didn’t like, though, was that I could not compare prices on competent cells from within the app, and instead had to put them all into my shopping cart and then “Checkout” in order to see the prices. Also, the double digest feature, which is nice, is specific to Life Technologies buffers. Finally, the app did completely freeze for me on my iPad, and I had to restart the entire device (not just the app) to get it working again.
NEB Tools (iPhone, Android, New England Biolabs)
Nice app for basic cloning needs. I like the no-frills approach that NEB takes when designing software (NEB Cutter got me through my PhD!). This app is entirely focused on the restriction enzymes themselves (no other enzymes or assistance with other steps in the cloning process), but I like that you know exactly what you’re getting and can use it with your iPhone or Android device in one hand and your pipette in the other.
Promega (iPhone, iPad, Android, Promega Corporation)
The Promega App does really everything you need: Biomath (dilutions, molar conversions both for chemicals and for biomolecules like DNA and protein), restriction enzyme search, and double digestion. There is no question that this is an impressive app. One very nice aspect is that it is available on all major mobile platforms. But what sets this app apart from NEB and from Life Technology’s apps is the protocol and video library. It’s almost like attending a graduate course in molecular biology taught by professor Promega. The protocols are well curated and relevant to modern biomedical research.
Great app for molecular biologists, though doesn’t have the restriction enzyme features of the other apps listed here. It does have a nice list of buffers and protocols on how to make them, as well as an impressive variety of video tutorials. It’s calculators are useful and intuitively categorized. Although the Qiagen app and the Promega app both have an impressive amount of content, one major drawback is that one cannot search the content. Maybe in the next iterations they’ll include search features.
I am not a structural biochemist by training, but I’ve done a little here and there. This app seems like it’s a great resource. I was able to search and find protein sequences and structures, and email myself structural data. Unfortunately, the app stopped working after one of my searches by structure returned no hits. I was directed to a blank page with no navigation buttons. Another problem I had was that when I searched for a protein sequence and was given a few hits, after clicking on one, I could not easily return to my results list. I needed to go all the way back to the home page and re-enter the search term. Overall, I would say they get an A for effort, because they’re trying to make something extremely difficult more intuitive, but there needs to be some fine tuning here before it’s a must-have for biochemists.
I definitely would have used this when I was at the bench. It’s basically just the genetic code displayed in about any visual display possible (list, table, circle, ven diagram). You can also just enter the codon and it will tell you the amino acid. iVanya also makes a pro version of the GeneticCode which offers: Genetic Code Translator tool, Codon usage for different species, and a melting Temperature for Oligos calculator.
That’s it from my end. I would love to get suggestions on other great apps for bench science if you know of any. Feel free to comment!
