The Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-Time PCR System is a 3rd generation of thermocycling technology that allows quanitation of product generation in “real time”. The ABI 7500 is the predecessor of the ABI 5700, made as the lower throughput version of the ABI 7900HT. The overall size and footprint of the ABI 7500 was made more compact. Connecting via USB 2.0 is a laptop station, which is a nice touch since it provides a smaller utilization of bench-top space plus acts as its own power backup system since laptops can function 2+ hours without AC power. However, in case of a power blackout the thermocycler unit must also be connected to a separate power backup system to complete the run.

The ABI 7500 unit brings with it many improvements versus the ABI 5700. The most important improvement is the use of five emission filters that allows the detection of a broader range of fluorophores that may be used for multiplexing. Standard assembly includes calibrated dyes FAMTM, SYBR Green I®, VIC®, TAMRATM, ROXTM, and etc. If the ABI 7500 does not come pre-calibrated with the particular dye, for example Ethidium Bromide, no worries – the manual shows you step by step how to calibrate the ABI 7500 to properly detect your dye. Other major improvements include, an improved Peltier-based heating block that eliminates the problem with the slight difference in the heat distribution through outer wells verses the inner wells. The software for the ABI 7500 looks very similar to ABI 5700, however slight improvements have made this program more versatile and user friendly. Improved software features include, adjustable ramping times, choice between new 9700 ramping and 9600 emulations, real-time monitoring of growth curves, adjustable cycle profiles while runs are in progress, and many extra utilizes to help analysis data. The ABI 7500 comes with an optional “Fast System” which allows PCRs to be completed within half the time.