St. Louis, Mo. – Sigma-Aldrich®, today announced that Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services research business, released a new version of OligoArchitect™, the comprehensive, easy-to-use online tool for automated design of primers and probes for quantitative real-time PCR assays. Powered by the industry standard Beacon Designer™ platform from PREMIER Biosoft, OligoArchitect is a free, robust design tool that complements Sigma Life Science’s portfolio of qPCR probes, reagents, and oligonucleotide services. To access OligoArchitect, visit sigma.com/probedesignonline.

OligoArchitect simplifies compliance with Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines with new features, such as primer and probe homology searching, template secondary structure analysis, and by providing the ability to design across exon splice sites. Additional features include automatic retrieval of template sequences, visualization of the template with positional display of regions of interest, design quality ratings, and tools for alternative and multiplex designs.

“OligoArchitect was designed to empower both qPCR novices and experts to quickly design sophisticated and MIQE-compliant primers and probes without having to shuffle data between multiple tools,” said Tom Russell, Product Manager, Sigma Life Science. “Novices especially will appreciate OligoArchitect’s straightforward, learn-as-one-works design. If additional information is required, a guide to all parameters as well as consultative technical support are available.”

OligoArchitect Online currently supports detection chemistries for both SYBR® Green I primers and dual-labeled probes, making it ideally suited to key applications in traditional PCR, endpoint genotyping, gene expression analysis, genomic copy number determination, allele discrimination, SNP detection, haplotyping, and multiplexing.

For more information about Sigma Life Science’s custom qPCR probes, please visit sigma.com/probes.

About Sigma Life Science: Sigma Life Science is a Sigma-Aldrich business that represents the Company’s leadership in innovative biological products and services for the global life science market and offers an array of biologically-rich products and reagents that researchers use in scientific investigation. Product areas include biomolecules, genomics and functional genomics, cells and cell-based assays, transgenics, protein assays, stem cell research, epigenetics and custom services/oligonucleotides. Sigma Life Science also provides an extensive range critical bioessentials like biochemicals, antibiotics, buffers, carbohydrates, enzymes, forensic tools, hematology and histology, nucleotides, amino acids and their derivatives, and cell culture media.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Our biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other high technology manufacturing. We have customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use our products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 40 countries and has 8,300 employees providing excellent service worldwide. We are committed to accelerating our Customers’ success through leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit our award winning web site at www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Sigma-Aldrich and Sigma are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC registered in the US and other countries. OligoArchitect is a trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC. SYBR is a registered trademark of Molecular Probes, Inc. Beacon Designer is a trademark of PREMIER Biosoft Intl.