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Table of contents for the manual
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omega.com e-mail: info@omega.com Fo r la te st p ro du ct m an ua ls : omegamanual.info Thermal Cyclers Shop online at U ser ’ s Guide TCY 20, 25, 30 & 48[...]
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Servicing Nor th America: U.S.A.: Omega Engineering, Inc., One Omega Drive, P.O. Box 4047 ISO 900 1 Ce rtif ied Stamford, CT 06907-0047 USA Toll Free: 1-800-826-6342 TEL: (203) 359-1660 FAX: (203) 359-7700 e-mail: info@omega.com Canada: 976 Bergar Laval (Quebec), Canada H7L 5A1 Toll-Free: 1-800-826-6342 TEL: (514) 856-6928 FAX: (514) 856-6886 e-mai[...]
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3 Contents 1. Introduction ............. ....................... ............................ ....................... ...................... 4 2. Safety and installation ............... ........................ ........................... ........................ .. 4 3. Cycler TCY specification ............... ........................ ............[...]
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4 1. Introduction The Cycler TCY pr ovides the researcher w ith t he means of accurately controlling the temperature profile of samples. It has many scientific applications, including DNA amplification and sequencing. The Cycler TCY can cycle samples between 4°C and 99°C. The Cycler TCY is programmed by me ans of an integral keypad and LCD displa[...]
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5 Unpacking When unpacking please ensure that the fo llowing have been removed from the packaging: Thermal cycler Power cable The user is advised to keep the original packaging in case the instrument ever needs to be returne d for service or repair. Omega Engineering, Inc. accepts no responsibility for damage incurred unless the un it is co[...]
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6 Working Conditions The thermal cycler is designed operate under the following conditions: Indoor use Ambient temperature range +5 o C to +40 o C Altitude to 2000m Relat ive hum idit y not exce eding 95 % Power supply fluctuations no t exceeding 10% Over voltage category II IEC 60364-4-443 Pollution degree 2 Note: The c[...]
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7 3. Cycler TCY Specification Temperature Temperature range 4°C to 99°C Temperature set point precision 0.1°C Bloc k unif ormity (over fu ll rang e) ± 0.5° C Temp eratur e accurac y ± 0. 5°C End of program cooling below ambient Yes Heating/Cooling Rate Maximum heating rate 4.5ºC/s Minimum heating rate 0.1ºC/s Maximum cooling rate 3.0ºC/s [...]
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8 Dimensions Height 185mm Width 185mm Length 330mm Power Power consumption 230W Units marked 100V will w ork at any voltage between 90 and 110V. The performance will vary a nd will not necessarily meet the above typical specification at the extremes of voltage. 4. User operatio n and consumables Heated lid To release the heated lid , lift the lid c[...]
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9 The amount of volume loss you observe and the change in reactant concentrations you can tolerate determine the minimum volume that can be used . Typical volume losses of 1µl in 30 cycles allow the use of samples of 20µl or less. During the final cool-down, a ring of condensation ma y form above the liquid level but below the top of the sample b[...]
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10 Switching on When you switch on the unit a s creen similar to the one shown here w ill a ppear briefly. This indicates the software version and block type installed in the unit. When the initial screen has disappeared the screen shown here will automatically appear. There are three options: 1. ‘Programs’ for creating and running programs; 2.[...]
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11 5. Front panel controls The LCD Display The CYCLER TCY has a four line LCD display. The top three lines are information or program lines, w hile the bottom line is a prompt line . The active line flashes on screen and is shown in bold in this manua l. The bottom line may change or f lash between two or three different prompts depending upon whic[...]
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12 The key s The End, Finish or Exit key The “End” or “Finish” key is used to finish editing programs or to exit a program. It is also u sed to ex it a seq uence of key operations. The Up arrow key The “Up arrow” key is used for scrolling up through the lines on the screen. It is also used to increase certain fields when editing. The Do[...]
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13 The Do wn arrow key The “Down arrow” key is used for scrolling down through the lines on the screen. It is also used to decrease certain fields when editing. The De cimal Point a nd Insert key The “Decimal Point” k ey is used when editing numeric fie lds. It is also used as an Insert key during program editing to insert additional steps [...]
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14 In the prompt line is equivalent to the “En d” key. On a program line means the program is locke d; it can be copied and t hen edited but not edited directly. Up arrow Down arrow Ente r Paus e The following terms are used when programming the CYCLER TCY : Stage A ‘Stage’ is the na me given to the main repeated part of a program containin[...]
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15 Programming Options There are two options available for creating programs on the CYCLER: 1. Copy and edit one of the pre-written temp lates. 2. Create a new program from the defaults. Option 1: Creating programs using templates There are two pre-w ritten basic PCR templates: a tw o-step and a three-step temp late. These can be copied and modifie[...]
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16 A new name can now be given to the copied program (see below). To give a program a name To type in a name for the program, press "Enter" and a cursor will appear in the position shown. Using the key pad, type in the name you wish to give the program. The letters will scroll round with successive presses; for example the “2” key wil[...]
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17 To edit a field or step in an existing program When the unit is switched on the display will show this screen. If known, type in the ‘Speed dial’ number for the required program and press “Enter” This will take you directly to the required program. If you do not know the ‘Spe ed dial’ number, press “Enter” to access the list of s[...]
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18 To edi t a temp erature, type in the requ ired temperature. In the example here, the heated lid t emperature is being edited. Press “Enter” to accept. Use the “Down Arrow” and/or t he “Up Arrow” keys to select the next field or step you wi sh to edit. To edit a field with on/off settings, first select the field and pres s “Enter”[...]
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19 To cop y a selected pr ogram If you select ‘Copy program’ a screen similar to this w il l appear and the software will automa tically give the program the next number until it is na med. Press “Enter” and type in a new name. You will then be able to edit the program as previously desc ribed. To delete a selected program If you select ‘[...]
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20 Example programs A couple of example thermal cycling programs are s hown below. Typical 3-Step PCR Heated Lid 105 Preheat Lid on Pause off - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In denat 94°c 5min Hot Start off - - - - - - St age 1 - - - - - - Number Cycles 30 Step 94°c 0m30 max Step 55°c 0m30 max step 72°c 0m30 max - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [...]
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21 A new stage will be inserted whi ch consists of a ‘Number cycles’ fie ld and one step. Edit the number of cycles by typing the number required then press "Enter" Use the “Down Arrow” key to move to the step. Press “Enter” to edit the s tep as described above. Press “Enter ” ag ain to acc ept. To insert additional steps [...]
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22 To add a new stage before an existing one Use the “ Up Arrow” or “Down Arrow” keys t o highlig ht the sta ge num ber. Press "Enter" A new sta ge will be added before the existing stage. The other sta ge numbers will be adjuste d as appropriate. The new stage can now be edited as described abo ve. To add a new stage at the end U[...]
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23 To insert a ‘paus e’ into a program To insert a pause after an existing st age, fol low th e steps for inserti ng a stag e as above. Highlight the ‘Number cycles’ line then pres s “Paus e” The prompt line will flas h betw e en ‘CHANGE TO PAUSE?’ and ‘YES or NO’. Press “Enter” to inse rt a pause. The stage number will then[...]
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24 To program increment or decrement temperature or time. Under normal circumstances, the Hold Temperature o f all steps is constant. However, it is possible to automatically increment or decre ment t he temperature of a sp ecified step of a programme. Tempera ture profile o f incremented Ho ld Tempera ture at step 3 o f each cycle The Hold Tempera[...]
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25 The prompt line will cha nge to flash between ‘CHANGE STEP?’ and ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ . Press “Ente r” The cursor will again mov e into the edit mode. Now press the “Up Arrow” key The step will change to ‘fst’, meaning “first” , and the software will insert another line after it entitled ‘ lst’, meaning “last”. Press[...]
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26 first temper ature i s 65°C and the last temperature is 55°C, ove r 30 cycles the temperature will decrease 0 .33°C each cycle. Similarly , in the example shown, the time would inc rease from 30 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds in 2 se cond increments. To save the program A program can only be run once it has been saved. Press the “End” key[...]
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27 To run a program When the unit is switched on the display will show this screen. If known, type in the ‘Speed dial’ number for the required program and press “Enter” This will take you directly to the required program. If you do not know the ‘Spe ed dial’ number, press “Enter” to access the list of stored programs. Next e ither: [...]
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28 During the run the LCD screen will report: 1. The cycle number 2. The time remaining (c ounting down in seco nds) 3. Th e sampl e temper ature ( wheth er holding or ramp ing) 4. Maximal ramp ra te 5. The current step of the run 6. A count down of the hold time. An example is shown here. Manual pause To pause a program while it is running, press [...]
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29 Program Information Pressing “Enter” w hile a program is running will give information about th e current run including which program is actually running and the unit st atus e.g. holding or ramp ing. An example is shown here. 7. Information The Information field on the front screen contains all the unit-specific information such as serial n[...]
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30 Access to the ‘Configurat ion’ set up is password protected. Default admin pass w ords is 1234 To enter configuration, use the alpha keys to type in ‘1234’ Press “Enter” There are a number of options w hich can be changed; these are listed here. Use the “Up Arrow” and “Down Arrow” keys t o select t hen pre ss “Ent er” to [...]
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31 When you have finished, press the “ Enter” key to go back to the ‘Configuration’ menu. Password s The ‘Passwords’ function allows the administrator to change the ‘Admin password’ (which allows access to Configuration) and also to de lete any passwords associated with programs. Highlight ‘Pass w ords’ then pres s “Enter” T[...]
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32 9. Notes on transfe rring protocols from ot her thermal cy clers The CYCLER TCY heats at over 3.6°C/s and provides the highest levels of temperature unifor mity. Many slower machines have historically begun the countdown on hold times before the set temperature is reached in ord er to avoid any overshooting in sample temperature. The slower the[...]
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33 10. User maintenance Cleaning your CYCLER The heating/cooling block, including wells and flat surfaces, should be cleaned regularly to ensure optimum heat transfer to the sample s. Always clean the block if the re has been a spillage. Use a cloth or cotton buds dipped in a fresh, 50 :50 water/is opropanol solution and ma ke sure that no deposits[...]
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34 11. Some frequent ly asked questions Q1 What is the ‘Pause’ function at the s tart of the program used for? A1 Some users prefer to pre heat the heated lid before plac ing the samples into the unit. The pause fea ture is used to stop the unit a fter the 4 minut e heated lid preheat step. It will also sound an audi ble alarm indicating that t[...]
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35 12. Additional information Brief fault finding notes and a list of replacement parts are given in this section. Note that this equipment should only be dismantled by properly trained personnel. Removin g the outer cover exposes potentially lethal power voltages. There are no user serviceable parts within this equipment. Fault F inding Should you[...]
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W ARRANTY / DISCLAIMER OME GA ENGI NEE RING , INC. war rant s this uni t to be fre e of defe cts in mate rial s and work mans hip for a per iod of 36 mont hs from date of purc hase . OMEGA ’ s W ARRANTY adds an additional one (1) month grace period to normal three (3) year product warranty to cover handling and shipping time. This ensures that OM[...]
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M-53 80 / 0114 W h e r e D o I F i n d E v e ry t h i n g I N e e d f o r P r o c e s s M e a s u r e m e n t a n d C o n t r o l ? O ME G A … O f C o u r s e ! Shop online at omega.com SM TE MP ERA TU RE Ther mocou ple, RTD & Ther misto r Pro bes, Connec tors, Pane ls & Assem blie s Wir e: Th ermoco uple , RTD & The rmist or Cal ibra[...]