Rubicon Genomics, Inc. released its PicoPlex Single Cell Whole Genome Amplification (WGA) kit—a more rapid, accurate, and reproducible method for amplifying single genomes than current technologies. This product targets the pre-implantation genetic diagnostics (PGD), cancer research, and stem cell research markets, which require rapid, reproducible amplification to profile patient genotypes, karyotypes, and mutations. PicoPlex enables reference labs to begin qPCR, microarray or sequencing analysis less than three hours after collecting patient cells.
Researchers can use the PicoPlex Single Cell WGA kits to amplify total DNA one million-fold from single cells to produce five micrograms of amplified DNA in less than three hours.
Current single-cell WGA kits using molecular displacement amplification (MDA) technology do not offer reproducible amplification of whole genomes, causing sporadic allele and locus dropouts, which seriously compromise results in PGD.
With PicoPlex Single Cell WGA, researchers can now confidently employ microarrays and qPCR for more accurate genotyping, karotyping, and copy number variation analysis from single cells.
PicoPlex’s ability to amplify genomic DNA from single cells opens new avenues for research on embryos, stem cells, and cancer cells. For oncologists, the PicoPlex Single Cell WGA kit may enable more specific diagnosis or prognosis using a patient’s circulating cancer cells. Additionally, it enables the study of heterogeneity of cancer cells creating a better understanding of the broader range of gene expression in each cell, helping researchers potentially identify more specific cancer biomarkers.
