| Epigentek Develops New Method for Selectively Isolating Circulating Cell-Free DNA (ccfDNA) Published 10/06/2015 |
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| Epigentek, a biotech firm based in Farmingdale, New York, has eliminated a significant barrier to research on circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) with the release of the EpiQuik™ Circulating Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit. Researchers can now selectively isolate ccfDNA from mononucleosomal and dinucleosomal complexes in plasma/serum samples without contamination and from small input volumes. Furthermore, the isolated DNA can be used directly with several downstream applications. Scientists at Epigentek carefully designed the kit to harness the ingenuity of magnetic beads based size-fractionation technology for the efficient and sensitive capture of ccfDNA in order to overcome current inadequate methodologies. Extracting and characterizing ccfDNA is crucial to advancing clinical research in cancer, autoimmune disease, and other disorders. However, doing so has proven highly difficult as researchers face the challenge of isolating amplifiable DNA from remarkably low ccfDNA concentrations. The current methods for isolating clinically relevant small fragments from mononucleosomes involve silicone column binding or phenol-chloroform separation, which are known to be inefficient and inaccurate. These methods capture a significant amount of non-ccfDNA impurities and interfere directly with downstream applications such as PCR. The EpiQuik™ Circulating Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit (Catalog # P-1064) uses a simple and reliable procedure involving magnetic beads based size-fractionation, isolating ccfDNA free of contaminants such as proteins, salts, polysaccharides, polyphenols, lipids and nucleases. Even with limited starting material quantities as low as 0.1 ml, greater than 80% recovery of input mononucleosomal DNA can be achieved. The DNA can then be used directly for NGS library preparation, qPCR, or other downstream applications. The EpiQuik™ Circulating Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit has far-reaching applicability and promise for advancing the epigenetic and genetic investigation of ccfDNA now that highly selective and sensitive isolation is achievable. Because sampling of plasma/serum is minimally invasive and can be done with relative ease, the clinical benefits that will arise with the use of this kit are vast. The removal of obstacles long associated with ccfDNA isolation will have immense clinical implications, including the development of tools for cancer detection and monitoring, the progression of ccfDNA as a reliable biomarker for cancer, and improvement in research investigating numerous important diseases. Visit us at Booth 2314 at ASHG to find out more about the ccfDNA isolation kit. About Epigentek Group Inc. Epigentek is a New York-based biotechnology company that focuses on developing and providing innovative technologies, services, and products as a complete and systematic solution for epigenetic related research and drug discovery. Visit the informative website at http://www.epigentek.com. |
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