What type of computer is needed?
The SPOT synthesis software will run on almost any PC under operating systems such as Windows 3.11, 95, and NT. There have been reports of problems with Celeron processors and we strongly discourage use of a PC with this type of processor. The PC used should not be networked or used for other applications at the same time as this would actually slow down the operation.

What are the features of the software?
As automation of the SPOT synthesis procedure with the AutoSpot allows to handle large arrays, a powerful software is necessary to generate the sequences. Sequences can be entered in the software itself or imported from text files in one letter code from other sources. There are several modes to generate peptides from parent protein or peptide sequences:

• individual peptides (entered one by one)
• analogue sequences (by defined amino acid replacement)
• overlapping peptides (generated from a protein sequence)
• overlapping peptides of different length (from a protein sequence)
• peptide libraries with a maximum of two mixed positions (libraries)

Sequences are entered as one letter code (OLC). The instrument can handle up to 44 amino acid derivatives defined as upper case one letter code plus B, O, X, Z and lower case one letter code except b, o, x, z. This allows use of natural and unnatural amino acids in one synthesis run. The maximum length allowed by the software is 40 residues, but practically the sequences should not be longer than 15-20 residues.