User`s manual

6
Setting Hold Times on the GeneAmp PCR System 9600
These general guidelines are based upon differences in how the
instruments operate to heat and cool samples.
The hold times that you specify in your PCR CYCL and AUTO
programs for the GeneAmp PCR System 9600 will be shorter
than those you used for your Step-Cycle or Thermo-Cycle files
on the DNA Thermal Cycler. This is because the Thermal Cycler
starts counting the hold time when the
block
reaches a
temperature one degree before the target temperature, while the
GeneAmp PCR System 9600 starts counting the hold time when
the
samples
reach a temperature one degree before the target
temperature.
As shown in Figure 1, since the block reaches the target
temperature before the samples, the programmed hold time on
the Thermal Cycler must include enough time for the samples to
reach the target temperature. A hold time of one minute or
greater is required on the DNA Thermal Cycler for the samples to
reach the target temperature. On the GeneAmp PCR System
9600, hold times of less than one minute are often used.