Q: How can laboratories develop assays that maximize speed, sensitivity, and throughput at an affordable cost?
Laboratories developing assays screen hundreds of samples per day following stringent standards—excellent sensitivity, rapid response time, and reproducible accuracy. While qPCR has emerged as a gold-standard method for fast and sensitive assay development, laboratories still struggle with prohibitively high costs and throughput requirements when scaling up qPCR assays to meet demand. Effective technologies in this space should enable lab managers to run affordable, large-scale panels without sacrificing sensitive detection for a broad range of pathogen targets.
A: Nanoliter-scale real-time PCR technology combines the reliability of qPCR with the capacity and speed of high-throughput methods.
The SmartChip ND Real-Time PCR System enables easy, efficient, and effective assay development through several key features. With nanoscale reaction volumes, efficient chip-based well formatting, and automated dispensing/cycling, the SmartChip ND system can process a remarkable 5,184 reactions for each run, with a rapid three-hour turnaround time from sample to data. This enables laboratories to process 3X the daily throughput at 200X reduced cost, compared to qPCR in 96-well plates. The SmartChip ND system’s customizable assay formats also provide the flexibility to adjust panel composition for different steps of the development process. The SmartChip ND system is for Research Use Only, not for use in diagnostic procedures.
To learn more, visit takarabio.com/scnd
