WaferGen Biosystems Completes Development of SmartChip Real-Time PCR

They've done it. Wafergen has completed the alpha version of their SmartChip Real-Time PCR System.

As we've talked about in previous issues of Captial Gains Report, Wafergen's new SmartChip Real-Time PCR System is designed as the first whole genome, high throughput gene expression real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform. This platform promises to deliver significant speed and cost advantages to researchers in the gene expression and genotyping markets.

Wafergen's SmartChip Real-Time PCR System has the capacity to conduct 33,750 assays on a single chip. Comparatively, today's standard real-time PCR technologies are only able to run 384 assays on a single plate.

Additionally, each of the system's wells is designed to support a real-time PCR reaction of 100 nanoliters. This represents a 1,000 fold decrease in the amount of reagent and sample required by today's standard real-time PCR technologies.

The result of the ability to conduct more assays on a single chip and the decrease in the amount of reagent required by today's standard real-time PCR is a significant cut in the time and cost associated with current technologies.

The completed SmartChip system will be alpha tested at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School as part of a WaferGen research collaboration.

Under terms of WaferGen's collaboration with the University of Pittsburg Medical School, Dr. Steven Shapiro and his team of researchers will leverage the high-throughput real-time PCR capabilities of WaferGen's SmartChip Real-Time PCR System to support their identification of therapeutically-relevant biomarkers in the areas of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.

Dr. Shapiro is a world-renowned expert in identifying and understanding the underlying biological contributors to pulmonary diseases such as COPD and lung cancer. His laboratory has played a leading role in guiding the path of cutting-edge COPD research including key discoveries related to the biological and pathological function of proteinases.

WaferGen is continuing its work on the development of additional proprietary assays for the new SmartChip Real-Time PCR System, including those focused in the area of toxicology.

At the same time, the company is also developing an enhanced version of the system that will enable users to conduct 100,000 assays on a single chip. This will provide the opportunity for researchers to use one chip to conduct whole genome gene expression in triplicate allowing researchers to save even more time and money.

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