Reagent promotes amplification of difficult samples.March 20, 2008 -
Use of PCRboost(TM) instead of water in reaction enhances PCR and RT-PCR performance by improving sensitivity and specificity during amplification of genomic DNA or RNA templates. Amplifying templates that are traditionally difficult and present only in limited quantities, solution helps scientists reduce both required number of cycles and amount of polymerase.
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Original Press release
Biomatrica
5627 Oberlin Drive
San Diego, CA, 92121
USA
Biomatrica's PCRboost(TM) Enables 5-Fold Improvement in Amplification of Difficult Samples
SAN DIEGO, March 12 -- Biomatrica, the leader in room temperature biological sample stabilization, announced the introduction of PCRboost, a reagent that enhances PCR and RT-PCR performance 5-fold or more by improving sensitivity and specificity during amplification of genomic DNA or RNA templates.
PCRboost makes it easy for scientists to amplify templates that are traditionally difficult to amplify and present in limited quantities. At the same time the number of cycles and amount of polymerase used are reduced, resulting in significant time and cost savings.
"With PCRboost, I obtained at least a 5-fold increase in the amplification of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) cervical cancer tissue samples compared to using water in a standard master mix," said Mina Kalantari, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine. "I start out with very small amounts of degraded DNA and then perform bi-sulfite modification for DNA methylation analysis, which leads to further degradation. Using PCRboost, I am now able to see bands that were invisible without it."
PCRboost greatly improves the amplification of difficult samples, enhancing the yield, specificity and consistency of the final product. There are no changes needed to existing PCR and RT-PCR protocols -- researchers simply replace the water in the reaction with PCRboost. Amplification is drastically improved for all samples including trace samples (less than or equal to 1 ng), degraded samples, low copy transcripts, multiplexing (i.e., STR analysis) and samples containing inhibitory factors.
"PCRboost is very easy to use -- you just add the reagent instead of water to your reaction mixture. I love the outcome!" states Kalantari.
PCRboost is currently available in three formats: a Trial Kit, containing 150 ul of PCRboost; a 1 ml tube; and a 10 ml bottle. All three sizes are available for purchase at http://www.biomatrica.com/.
About Biomatrica(R), Inc.
Biomatrica (http://www.biomatrica.com/) is a San Diego-based biostability company that provides innovative technologies for stabilizing, processing, storing and shipping biological samples at room temperature. The core technology is designed for use in preserving complex biological samples and assays and is based on the principles of anhydrobiosis ("life without water"), a natural mechanism that allows multicellular organisms to survive extreme environments. Biomatrica's current products stabilize DNA and RNA with no sample degradation, thus labs can reduce their reliance on freezers and drastically reduce shipping costs. Biomatrica products are used in laboratories performing life science research, from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to academic research and forensics laboratories. Custom services to stabilize additional sample types are also available. Biomatrica also offers SampleWare(R) software, an easy-to-use, customizable laboratory management database that provides scientists with the means to store and organize their sample data, and directly supports samples stabilized by Biomatrica technology.
CONTACT: Stephanie M. Boos of Biomatrica, +1-858-550-0308, ext. 23, sboos@biomatrica.com; or Ken Li of Chempetitive Group, +1-312-997-2436, ext. 111, kli@chempetitive.com, for Biomatrica
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