PCR Equipment Designed for Clinical Laboratories

The apparatus can perform numerous diagnostic functions, including pathogen detection, gene expression analysis, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, copy number analysis, mutation detection, micro-ribonucleic acid (RNA) and other noncoding RNA analysis, and high-resolution melt analysis.

The QuantStudioDx Real-Time PCR Instrument (Applied Biosystems, Carlsbad, CA, USA) is a Conformité Européenne in vitro diagnostic device (CE-IVD) marked for use in Europe and represents a significant extension of their parent company Life Technologies’ product offerings in the diagnostics arena. The instrument’s touch screen, reagent and sample tracking, and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) interface are specifically designed for ease of use.

Flexibility is enabled through easily interchangeable thermal cycling blocks that accommodate 96- or 384-well plates and a proprietary quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) microfluidics card, which can perform 48 tests on eight samples concurrently without the need for liquid-handling robots. The card can also be used to design and implement custom tests. Life Technologies (Carlsbad, CA, USA) is currently developing diagnostic tests utilizing this format.

The instrument is being released with CE-marked Quidel Molecular Assay for Clostridium difficile for detection of hospital-acquired infections, which Life Technologies distributes. Additional Quidel Molecular infectious disease applications are currently under development and will be available in 2013, including an influenza A + B Assay, a human metapneuomvirus (hMPV) + respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) Assay, and a herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, and varicella zoster virus (chicken pox and shingles) assay.

Ronnie Andrews, BS, president of Medical Sciences at Life Technologies, said, “Molecular diagnostic tests based on real-time PCR have become indispensable to the clinical laboratory. Molecular testing is the fastest-growing segment of the diagnostics market, and the QuantStudio Dx instrument has unique features that will allow us to capture that market growth.”

Related Links:
Applied Biosystems
Life Technologies