The Eppendorf Mastercycler Gradient is a PCR device suitable for several molecular biology techniques based on pcr amplification. The machine makes use of peltier modules and requires no heating or cooling aggregates, thus the temperature of samples can be modulated very rapidly between 4ºC and 99ºC (the temperature can be changed up to 3ºC per second). One practical advantage of this device is the gradient function, which enables the temperature to be varied from 2ºC to 20ºC across the entire block. The Mastercycler can accommodate 96 x 0.2 ml PCR tubes or 77 x 0.5 ml PCR tubes – Eppendorf suggests using thin-walled tubes so that the temperature inside the tube is reached and maintained throughout every single step without any delay. The device is easy to use because of a well-made display field and is also fitted with a heated lid to prevent the formation of condensation. The machine can store up to 99 programs in its internal memory and it comes with a ‘personal’ memory card that can be plugged in and allows an individual user to save up to 10 programs. It also has a printer connection socket (PC compatible) and a serial PC connection socket for functions such as data downloading.
When I bought this machine I was planning to use it primarily for differential screening based on a differential display technique. I was told that the Mastercycler would be a good machine for this technique because it had a good reputation for accurate well-temperature control. I have had this machine in the lab for about a year and I have been using it for a lot of different pcr-based applications including radioactive and non-radioactive PCR, RT PCR, ligations and high-temperature restriction enzyme digestions (55ºC). I have mostly used the 0.2 ml PCR tubes from Eppendorf and Genehunter according to the company instructions.
There are several things that I really like about this machine. It has given me excellent (i.e. reproducible) results in almost all of the PCR that I’ve used it for, probably because the block temperature changes very rapidly (and quietly). I also like the heated lid, which allows me to avoid using mineral oil to prevent evaporation, and the memory card, which is a nice idea especially when you have many people using the machine (you can buy extra memory cards from Eppendorf). All of this in a machine that is well designed and compact as well as competitively priced.
There are some features of the machine that I wish I could change, however. Although I like the fact that the block can accomodate both 0.5ml and 0.2ml tubes, when using the 0.5ml tubes I find that they are often very close together in the block making it difficult to place them. Also, even though the block does fit 96-well plates, the ones that I used didn’t fit very well. The software that comes with the machine is adequate, it can do things like provide the value of the temperature for each of the 0.2ml wells (but not the 0.5ml wells), but the machine itself is designed to be connected to a PC and not a Mac.
In summary, I would have to say that the Eppendorf Mastercycler is an excellent PCR machine, the performance is outstanding and the possibility to accommodate both 0.2 ml and 0.5 ml tubes is money saving because it is not necessary to buy additional blocks or adapters. I would highly recommend it to labs that need an excellent and reliable PCR device.
Luca Carta PhD
Postdoctoral fellow
Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mount Sinai School of Medicine