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New Technology Increases the Availability of High Quality DNA for Genetic Testing
New Technology Increases the Availability of High Quality DNA for Genetic Testing
Published 04-16-02
Submitted by Molecular Staging Inc.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Molecular Staging Inc. (MSI) today announced the publication of a paper in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) that describes a method for generating millions of DNA copies from just a few cells.
The increasing trend to study disease and drug response at the genetic level has focused attention on DNA as a precious resource. Researchers need sufficient high quality DNA to address the rapid growth in both the volume and variety of genetic tests, yet typically the amount of DNA from individual patient samples is limited and the methods used to extract DNA are cumbersome.
"MSI has developed the first effective method of extracting and amplifying the entire human genome approximately one million-fold in a few simple steps," said Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, Chief Operating Officer of MSI. "We believe the availability of this technology has the potential to transform the current practice of genetic testing."
- Virtually unlimited number of genetic tests per sample
- Use of samples such as buccal swabs, mouthwash, finger prick, etc.
- Use of DNA from alternative sources such as biopsies, needle aspirates, etc.
- An increase in the practice of archiving DNA for additional testing or retesting
The method is described in detail in the paper entitled Comprehensive Human Genome Amplification Using Multiple Displacement Amplification, PNAS, Volume 99 (8), 2002, pp 5261-5266.
"Earlier attempts to amplify the whole genome lead only to amplification of a subset of the genome, thus rendering these methods useless as a general tool for genetic analysis," stated Dr. Michael Egholm, Vice President of Research at MSI, and co-author of the paper. "The technology, multiple displacement amplification (MDA), is a substantial advancement over currently available whole genome amplification methods, rapidly amplifying the genome with comprehensive loci coverage, minimal bias between any loci and yielding 10+ kb fragments in a simple, scalable reaction," continued Dr. Egholm.
Molecular Staging has exclusively licensed MDA from Yale University.
MSI is a privately held life science company developing a portfolio of proprietary technologies that are transforming the detection and measurement of proteins and nucleic acids. MSI's technologies, combined with sophisticated bioinformatics, broadly enable a wide range of products and services across multiple health care markets. One of MSI's core technologies is Rolling Circle Amplification Technology (RCAT(TM)), an amplification process that has significant advantages in terms of sensitivity, multiplexing, dynamic range and scalability. MSI has exclusively licensed RCAT from Yale University. Additional information about MSI can be found at www.molecularstaging.com.
