Company Announcements

In April, Horizon Technology named Axel Semrau its newest German distributor.

Target Discovery expanded its strategic technology license and supply agreement with Pressure BioSciences for clinical lab testing services for the extraction of membrane protein biomarkers from human tissue.

In May, Pressure BioSciences signed a strategic codevelopment, comarketing and coselling agreement with LEAP Technologies to develop a new automated sample preparation system for MS labs.

Pressure BioSciences, LEAP Technologies, Sage-N-Research and Valco Instruments announced plans in May to codevelop a new sample preparation and data analysis platform for hydrogen-deuterium exchange MS.

In June, Agilent named IMAXIO a Certified Service Provider for its SureSelect Target Enrichment System.

Product Introductions

Bioo Scientific introduced the NEXTflex Directional RNA-Seq Kit and Barcodes Primer Sets for generating directional single, paired-end and multiplexed libraries from mRNA- or rRNA-depleted total RNA.

In May, Anton Paar released a new line of Multiwave sample preparation systems, the Multiwave PRO and Multiwave ECO microwave digestion systems, which feature a unique reaction-vessel autoventing technology.

PerkinElmer launched the Supra-d QuEChERS Discovery Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and clean-up kits.

Rubicon Genomics introduced in May the ThruPLEX family of sample preparation kits for next-generation sequencing, PCR and microarray testing. The kits repair, ligate and amplify the DNA molecules in a single tube and are validated for use with samples as small as 50 pg of human DNA. Currently available are 48-reaction, 12-index kits for Illumina sequencers.

Promega introduced the ReliaPrep 96 gDNA MiniPrep HT System for the extraction and isolation of gDNA from blood and Oragene-DNA sample collection devices in a multiwall format. It complements the recently released ReliaPrep RNA Cell MiniPrep System for RNA extraction.

In May, Illumina released the Nextera XT DNA Sample Preparation Kit for small genomes, PCR amplicons and plasmids, featuring a 90 minute sample preparation workflow. In a single tube, it fragments DNA and inserts sequencing adapters and barcodes.

In June, Agilent made its HaloPlex target enrichment system available for Life Technologies’ Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine.

RainDance Technologies, in collaboration with the MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory, announced in June the development of a novel content panel for use in the sequence-based analysis of AML and myelodysplastic syndromes, which will enable analysis of more than 25 genes at the single base level.