96 well sample block

Computer, flat screen monitor

New laser

SDS 2.2.2

Windows XP

1 year warranty

ABI 7900 HT Fast Real Time PCR system

Includes:

96 well sample block

Computer, flat screen monitor

New laser

SDS 2.2.2

Windows XP

1 year warranty

Options:

Automation Accessory Upgrade, (shown above) £8500

Fast 96 or 384-Well Block £5.500 (or less)

Standard 384-Well Block (optional)  £3.988 (or less)

Summary:
The Windows based ABI Prism 7900 HT Systems use Peltier-based thermal cycling, TaqMan chemistry, and extended-life 488 nm argon-ion laser excitation to detect and quantitate nucleic acid sequences. The systems can be used for gene expression, quantitation, and SNP detection using fluorogenic 5’ nuclease assay.

The primary use of this system is to examine relatively few numbers of genes across a wide spectrum of conditions. This technology is very sensitive in that it is able to detect single copies of genes and requires very little starting material. The system monitors PCR at each cycle of a reaction, and estimates the cycle when the reaction reaches log phase increments (when the most useful quantitative information about the sample is available).

Quantitation can be "relative" to an internal standard such as a housekeeping gene, or "absolute" when compared to a standard curve generated from known concentrations. RT-PCR can be performed using a dual-labeled sequence-specific probe that carries both exciter and quencher tags. The exciter is cleaved from the quencher by the exonuclease activity of Taq polymerase and detected by the fluorometer. Another method of detection employs Sybr green detection. This method is less expensive and no sequence specific probe is required. Sybr green intercalates with double-stranded DNA and fluoresces as the PCR products are formed. This is detected and quantitated by the software. For allelic detection, ABI has a variety of pre-developed assays for specific genes and include all components needed for quantification of gene expression. Please note the following changes that the new ABI 7900 Systems have. The only sample containers that can be used are Semi- or Half-Skirted well plates with flat-tops. Users can no longer use strip-tubes, rounded-caps, or unskirted plates. Users will also need to purchase flat-top, optical caps or 0.2 mm thermal microseal film for their plates. All other plates and caps will not work with the new machines. These items may be purchased through any company. Microsoft Windows platform is used instead of Macintosh. Investigators can utilize Primer Express v2.0 software by downloading it from the website.

Equipment Overview
The Applied Biosystems 7900HT Fast Real-Time PCR System is the only real-time quantitative PCR system that combines 96- and 384-well plate compatibility with fully automated robotic loading-and now also offers optional Fast real-time PCR capability.

· Fast PCR option gives real-time PCR results in a standard 96-well format in about 35 minutes
· Continuous wavelength detection from 500-660 nm allows the use of multiple fluorophores in a single reaction
· Measure gene expression levels, detect and quantitate pathogens, perform allelic discrimination (SNP genotyping) assays as well as score the presence of gene sequences
· 96- or 384-well plate compatibility (including the TaqMan® Low Density Array)
· Optional Enterprise edition software provides data analysis tools that support 21 CFR Part 11 guidelines providing data integrity and security
· Hands-free plate-loading and unloading provides true walkaway automation allowing you to increase your lab's productivity
· Custom Automation Accessory provides 24-hour unattended operation
· Proven assay development guidelines save time and money

High Throughput
The 7900HT System is a high-throughput real-time PCR system that detects and quantitates nucleic acid sequences. An Automation Accessory combined with 384-well plate capability make the 7900HT system ideally suited to meet the high-throughput requirements of today's drug discovery process. Key applications include gene expression quantitation and the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using the fluorogenic 5' nuclease assay.

Flexibility
The 7900HT system is a versatile research tool that can accommodate any real-time PCR need. User-interchangeable thermal cycling block formats let you select the format that?s right for your project, using industry-standard 96- and 384-well formats, as well as a novel 384-well TaqMan® Low Density Array and a new Fast 96-well block that reduces run times from 2 hours to about 30 minutes. An easy automation upgrade path lets you add features to meet throughput demands. A Fast PCR option reduces run times from 2 hours to about 30 minutes.

Powerful Software
Using two automation software tools, Plate Utility and Automation Controller, most of the gene expression and SNP genotyping workflow is fully automated for high-throughput applications and requires minimal user intervention. You can now process 5,000 x 384 well plates (384 markers), which equates to 1.92 million genotypes. Using Relative Quantification (RQ) Manager, you can also process 200 x 384-well plates (96 detectors with quadruplicate data points/multiplexed endogenous control), which equates to 153,600 data points. Fully integrated into one complete Enterprise system, SNP Manager and RQ Manager eliminate data analysis bottlenecks in high-throughput SNP and gene expression research by allowing significantly more plates to be analyzed simultaneously. This reduces hands-on analysis time and simplifies the data analysis workflow.

Computer Specifications (minimum) (PC)
Operating System: Windows® XP
CPU: Pentium IV, 2.6 GHz processor
Hard Disk: 40 GB
CD-ROM: DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive
Memory 512 MB SDRAM

Performance/Throughput
Performance Using the TaqMan® RNase P Instrument Verification Plate (384 or 96-well), the Applied Biosystems 7900HT Fast Real-Time PCR System can distinguish between 5,000 and 10,000 template copies with a 99.7% confidence level.

Throughput Real-Time Throughput: Over 5,000 sample wells per day with 384-well block configuration and standard thermal cycling protocol (requires Automation Accessory)

End-Point Throughput: Over 30,000 sample wells every 3 hours with 384-well block configuration (represents a full Automation Accessory load with off-line thermal cycling).

Physical Specifications
Width with Automation Accessory: 125 cm (49 in)
without Automation Accessory: 72 cm (28 in)
Computer: 43 cm (17 in)
Weight with Automation Accessory: 114 kg (250 lbs)
without Automation Accessory: 82 kg (180 lbs)
Computer: 32 kg (70 lbs)
Depth with Automation Accessory: 84 cm (33 in)
without Automation Accessory: 84 cm (33 in)
Computer: 46 cm (18 in)
Height with Automation Accessory: 64 cm (25 in)
without Automation Accessory: 64 cm (25 in)
Computer: 59 cm (23 in)

Power Requirements
Voltage: 200 - 240 V

System Components

• Peltier-based thermal cycling system with interchangeable 384- and 96-well block capability
• Extended-life 488 nm argon-ion laser excitation source
• Excitation light distributed to all wells via a dual-axis synchronous scanning head
• Fluorescence detection via a spectrograph and cooled CCD camera
• Robot compatible plate loading and unloading (Automation Accessory required to load multiple plates without user intervention)