An Applied Biosystems ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer system is required for both ongoing and proposed studies requiring high throughput DNA sequencing by 24 investigators at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The proposed instrument will become part of the Institutional Protein and Nucleic Acid Core Facility of the Medical College, the oldest and most successful investigator-initiated institutional core facility available to all researchers without restriction. The ABI 3100 DNA sequencer will be sited in and operated by trained staff of the Core Facility. The 16 channels automated ABI 3100 instrument will replace an existing single channel ABI 310 DNA sequencer currently used by the Protein and Nucleic Acid Core Facility since 1999. Steadily increasing sample submissions due to markedly enhanced funding by and expansion in the number of Medical College investigators has exceeded the maximum capacity of the existing ABI 310 instrument. The proposed ABI 3100 DNA sequencer possesses a sample capacity that exceeds projected institutional needs for the foreseeable future yet retains the format and chemistry employed by the existing instrument and similar dedicated ABI 310 sequencers used by several Departments and groups, thus allowing seamless transitions for investigators using the latter instruments who choose to use the Protein and Nucleic Acid Core Facility. In addition, the proposed instrument will allow longer reads than currently available on the ABI 310 instrument. ? ?
