The 9700 PCR System is fully compatible with methods developed on earlier generation Applied Biosystems 9600 and 2400 GeneAmp® instruments. The 9700 system’s modular design consists of interchangeable sample blocks in a variety of well formats and materials to accommodate a wide range of applications. The corrosion-free gold-plated silver block enables block heating and cooling speeds of up to 5.0°C/sec. For volumes up to 100 ìL, these faster heating and cooling rates provide significantly shorter cycle times. The graphical user interface allows the user to set the programs and displays the running operations in real-time. The 9700 PCR System also provides other features such as networking, data management, and temperature verification.
I mainly use the Applied Biosystems 9700 PCR System to perform RT-PCR and cloning. I have exclusively used the gold-plated silver block since its characteristics best match my experimental requirements. To ensure well-to-well temperature uniformity, I also use a 96-well reaction plastic plate. This plate is a consumable option which needs to be replaced regularly due to heating damages.
The 9700 PCR System is a valuable product giving great satisfaction in terms of reliability, accuracy and reproducibility. When I had evaporation problems with others brands of PCR machines, the Applied Biosystems 9700 PCR machine always gave me perfect reactions. Similarly, I had doubts about the lid locking systems of other brands of PCR machines; the lid of the 9700 is easy to lock and its firmness gives confidence. Through the graphical interface, each user can create their own folders to save their programs. I particularly appreciate the reasonable number of letters allowed for labeling saved settings; it is helps to avoid confusion between similar settings. At the end of each program, a message sums up the history of the completed process, indicating possible problems during the program, such as power failure.
The Applied Biosystems GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 is scientifically valuable. However, an additional 96-well reaction plastic plate is required to ensure temperature uniformity. Also, the graphical interface on the 9700 is not very intuitive and it takes a while to get use to it so that you are not loosing time setting up and saving reaction programs. Moreover, while some others PCR machines are tiny and fit in a small space on a bench, the 9700 is quite a massive PCR machine (please give dimensions: width x length x height), which is a very bad point when bench space is limited. Finally, although the 9700 we currently have is reliable, the last machine we acquired crashed at the first try, which is regrettable for a brand new machine, and it took a couple of months to get the machine fixed, which is even more regrettable.