DRAFT
September 1, 2004 11:38 am, CH_GetStart.fm
Chapter 2 Getting Started
2-12 Applied Biosystems 7900HT Fast Real-Time PCR System and SDS Enterprise Database User Guide
Lesson 1: Using Plate Documents
About SDS Plate
Documents
Every plate run on the Applied Biosystems 7900HT Fast Real-Time PCR System
requires the creation of a plate document using the SDS software. A plate document
is a virtual representation of a consumable used to contain samples and reagents
during a sequence detection run. The software uses the plate document to coordinate
the operation of the instrument (thermal cycling and data collection), to organize and
store the data gathered during the PCR, and to analyze the run data.
The exercises in this lesson will familiarize you with the use of plate documents.
Table 2-3 Plate Document Types of the SDS Software
File Ext. Icon Description
SDS 7900HT
Document
*.sds Plate Documents are the primary file you will use.
They are generated for every kind of experiment
and are generally used to run plates.
SDS 7900HT
Tem p l at e
Document
*.sdt Although optional, plate document templates are
useful as timesaving devices for experiments where
samples are run on plates with identical assay
configurations.
SDS 7900HT
Multiple Plate
Document
*.sdm Multiple plate documents are used to analyze data
from relative quantification experiments. The use of
multiple plate documents is discussed in detail in
Chapter 6, “Analyzing Real-Time Data.”