Agilent Technologies
Inc. announced that it was awarded a significant patent for comparative genomic
hybridization (CGH) methods. CGH methods help researchers study genetics and
cancer in both basic and clinical research.

The U.S.
patent (No. 8,232,055) has claims for measuring copy number changes in genomic
DNA, covering both one-color and two-color assays using oligonucleotide probes
and samples with high-sequence complexity, such as human genomic DNA samples.

Agilent’s
copy number method, commercially introduced in 2005, uses long oligonucleotide
probes, enabling high specificity and sensitivity. For example, samples
containing as low as 8% abnormal cells may be confidently analyzed with
Agilent’s copy number method.

The method
was originally developed to improve upon older copy number assays that use long
genomic fragments such as bacterial artificial chromosomes. (BACs often contain
repetitive regions.) The method also improves upon other oligonucleotide array
assays, which depend on sample preparation methods that remove significant
portions of the genomic DNA content. Agilent’s higher-resolution platform
allows users to detect much smaller genomic aberrations throughout complex
genomes.

Source: Agilent Technologies Inc.