RainDance Technologies, Inc., a provider of innovative microdroplet-based solutions for human health and disease research, today announced the shipment of an RDT 1000 and Sequence Enrichment Solution to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
RainDance is a provider of innovative microdroplet-based solutions for human health and disease research.
TGen, a nonprofit biomedical research institute based in Phoenix, Arizona, focuses on the translation of laboratory discoveries into personalized medicine, developing earlier diagnostics and better treatments for patients with many forms of cancer, neurological and cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases.
Dr. David Duggan, an Investigator in TGen’s Genetic Basis of Human Disease Division, said one of the initial applications of the RainDance solution would focus on resequencing regions of the human genome identified as part of genome-wide association studies.
“The RainDance technology has tremendous breadth. We are also discussing its use in candidate gene and pathways studies, as well as targeting known disease-causing genes,” Dr. Duggan said.
Dr. Jeffrey Trent, TGen’s President and Research Director, said the use of RainDance products should further improve the speed and quality of TGen’s cutting-edge scientific investigations.
“TGen should significantly reduce the time required to conduct experiments by exponentially accelerating multiple applications for genome-level partitioning, including the generation of large amounts of targeted resequencing data,’’ Dr. Trent said.
“TGen is a recognized leader in the application of next-generation sequencing technologies to translational medicine research,” said Christopher McNary, President and Chief Executive Officer of RainDance Technologies. “Our Sequence Enrichment Solution and RDT 1000 system will accelerate their ability to perform large-scale targeted resequencing studies that will help realize the exciting benefits of personalized medicine.”
The RainDance solution consists of the RDT 1000 instrument, consumables kits, and custom PCR primer libraries. The solution uses RainDance’s breakthrough RainStorm™ microdroplet-based technology platform.
The simplicity and speed of the technology are designed to maximize the efficiency of next-generation DNA sequencing workflows. The RDT 1000 generates picoliter-volume PCR reactions at the rate of 10 million discrete reactions per hour. High-speed sample processing is further enhanced by the fact that the Sequence Enrichment Solution uses a library of PCR primers in droplets enabling the amplification of hundreds to thousands of genomic loci in a single tube. The technology leverages the specificity of PCR to provide high breadth of coverage for the regions of interest.
The RainStorm format avoids the limitations of traditional multiplex hybridization and amplification technologies. RainDance’s solution minimizes process-induced bias or error and requires only a few micrograms of genomic DNA.