HAYWARD, Calif.–Mawi DNA Technologies, a biotechnology company focusing on the development of innovative technologies for biosampling, announces the launch of iSWAB-Cells. Designed to collect and stabilize intact cells for up to four weeks at room temperature, the sample collection system enables researchers to perform multiple OMICS analyses from the same sample. The iSWAB-Cells family of products includes the patented iSWAB noninvasive buccal cell collection system, as well as a standalone stabilization buffer for cells within different biological matrices, such as saliva.

For researchers to create a more comprehensive profile of human health and wellness versus disease, multiple analytes need to be included in the analytical mix, such as DNA, RNA, proteins and cell morphology. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of current sample collection practices, this means multiple samples need to be collected per person. This involves expensive cold chain logistics in both transport and storage, especially for samples received internationally. These shortcomings hinder sample accessibility, diversity and complexity, and thus research accuracy.

“Clearly there is a need for a universal sample collection method that enables isolation and analysis of multiple analytes from the same sample to allow more precise medical discoveries,” said Dr. Bassam El-Fahmawi, Mawi’s President and CTO. He added, “In addition, this method should be simple and suitable for self or assisted collection, any population segment, require no specialized expertise to use and allow samples to remain stable for room temperature storage and transport. To address this need Mawi DNA Technologies has developed iSWAB-Cells, a universal non-invasive cell collection system, from which gDNA, RNA, proteins and cell morphology can be analyzed from the same sample.”

“My team focuses on developing saliva based diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers to detect oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancers early, as well as to detect heart failure. With the ease of collection and non-invasive nature of sampling, the use of saliva both in a research context and a diagnostic setting has increased in the recent years. However, due to the need of cold-transportation, the uptake of saliva as the choice of medium has slowed down. We have evaluated the MAWI Cell Stabilization (MCS) buffer when transporting and storing saliva samples at room temperature for downstream molecular applications,” said Associate Professor Chamindie Punyadeera, Head, Saliva Translational Research Group, Queensland University of Technology. She added, “Based on our findings, MCS buffer was able to preserve human gDNA and total protein within the testing time-point, while bacterial gDNA was accurately preserved (Lim and Punyadeera, Cogent Biology (2018), 4: 1470895).”

Dr. Christopher Gregg, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology & Anatomy and Human Genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, added, “In our studies, we found the iSWAB-Cells system yields reproducible and stable biosignatures from different individuals.” For his analysis, Dr. Gregg used the iSWAB Cells non-invasive buccal cell collection system.

Mawi DNA Technologies remains focused on the development of innovative tools and solutions for the stabilization of biological samples for room temperature storage and transport to help accelerate scientific research towards better understanding of human health and wellness versus disease. The company welcomes iSWAB-Cells academic and industry partnerships.

About Mawi DNA Technologies

Mawi DNA Technologies, founded in 2013, has developed and commercialized the iSWAB technology, an innovative system for collection of biosamples. The company’s flagship product iSWAB-DNA has gained significant market traction due to its ability to be used for animals and all human population segments from infants to the elderly, producing a robust DNA yield with low bacterial DNA content. For more information, please visit http://www.mawidna.com.