August 19, 2008 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PENZBERG, Germany–A fast, flexible, and reliable isolation of pure nucleic acids from various sample materials is crucial for sensitive molecular analysis by PCR, RT-PCR, sequencing, arrays etc. In addition, automation of nucleic acid isolation is becoming increasingly important for reproducibility and to reduce experimental error. During the last years, demands regarding hardware design, software, and operating system have been increasing. The new MagNA Pure LC 2.0 System from Roche Applied Science now meets all requirements for a modern nucleic acid purification system. It shows all features and the performance of the first generation instrument and comprises in addition a bundle of improvements including a complete redesign of the housing, optimized handling, an integrated computer and LCD monitor with touch screen, new software, and LIMS/network compatibility.

The new front door of the MagNA Pure LC 2.0 System requires less space above the instrument; the new surface materials of the stage proved to be resistant to all tested cleaning agents. The new GUI together with the touch screen allows efficient programming and data processing, and the real-time PCR workflow with the Light Cycler® 480 System is improved. The programming of pipetting schemes for various PCR set-ups can easily be done by a separate post-elution software. The error handling of the system has been significantly improved.

The MagNA Pure LC System from Roche Applied Science has been on the market since 1999. This fully automated (“walk-away”) system is based on the well-established magnetic bead technology and offers a great variety of applications. The system is designed to automate nucleic acid purification and PCR setup in the medium to high throughput range, flexibly processing 1–32 samples at a time. The duration to purify a full batch of 32 samples is 52-180 minutes, depending on the application. Smaller batches require even shorter run duration. As shown in many publications, the MagNA Pure LC System has proven to be a versatile and reliable tool for isolation of very pure nucleic acids of high integrity (for details on references visit our MagNA Pure Special Interest Site at www.magnapure.com).

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world’s biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a market leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic disorders and diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 9.3 billion francs. Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in 2007. Worldwide, the Group employs about 80,000 people. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.roche.com.

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