Prism 377 Applied Biosystems DNA Sequencer

The ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer is an automated instrument designed for analyzing fluorescently-labeled DNA fragments by gel electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is the movement of charged molecules through a gel solution (such as polyacrylamide) in an electrical field. It is used to separate DNA fragments by size.

The instrument functions the same way for both sequencing and GeneScan applications. The main differences between these applications is in the preparatory chemistries used, and the type of analysis performed on the resulting data.

There are four different models of the ABI 377:


The standard ABI PRISM 377 instrument is designed to accommodate three sizes of gel plates—12 and 36 cm for GeneScan applications, and 36 and 48 cm for sequencing applications. Combs available are 18, 24, 32, 36, and 48-well shark’s tooth, and 24, 32, and 36-well square tooth. Data is collected from 194 channels during each scan.


The ABI PRISM 377-18 DNA Sequencer is the lowest cost, lowest-throughput version of the instrument. It can run up to 18 lanes on a single gel.


The ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer with XL Upgrade increases the number of samples that can be analyzed simultaneously. Increased throughput is made possible by modifying the instrument to collect data from 388 channels instead of 194 during each scan. The XL Upgrade can accommodate the following combs: 48- and 64-well shark’ s tooth combs for sequencing applications; 48-, 50-, 64-, and 66-well for GeneScan applications. You can still use 36-w ell or other lo wer lane density combs if desired. Refer to the ABI PRISM® 377 DNA Sequencer XL Upgrade User’s Manual (P/N 904412) for more information.


The ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer with 96-lane Upgrade increases the number of samples that can be run on each gel. Increased throughput is made possible by re-engineering the instrument to collect data from 480 channels instead of 388 for the ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer with XL Upgrade or 194 for the ABI PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer. In addition, the scan region has been increased from 6 inches to 7.25 inches. The 96-lane upgrade includes a 100-well shark’s tooth comb, and a new front glass plate. The new front glass plate has a bevel where samples are loaded. The bevel increases the thickness of the gel from 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm in this region. Lower lane density combs can still be used, but only with the original front glass plates provided with the standard ABI PRISM 377 instrument.