Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), today announced the launch of genomic analysis tools that will help researchers in studies that associate genetic variation with specific diseases. These new tools, known as the MeltDoctor™ High-Resolution Melt (HRM) Reagents, are for research use only and are part of a PCR-based workflow that enables researchers to cost-effectively scan DNA from a variety of biological sample types to detect the smallest genetic variations among samples.
The MeltDoctor HRM Reagents facilitate high resolution melt, or HRM analysis, which is a powerful technique for the detection of mutations, polymorphisms and epigenetic differences in double-stranded DNA samples. These reagents enable the characterization of variant nucleic acid sequences for advanced genomics applications such as mutation scanning, genotyping, and methylation analysis. These tools, including software, are part of an HRM analysis workflow optimized for Applied Biosystems real-time PCR systems that is simple to perform, requiring minimal quantities of both sample and reagent to capture a significantly greater amount of detail and information for variant types, without the complexity and expense of other methods.
HRM analysis is emerging as a technique of choice among genomics researchers and is one of several different analysis methods offered by the Genomics Core Lab at the Institute of Research in Immunology and Cancer at the University of Montreal. The IRIC Genomics Core Facility has been using an early-access version of the MeltDoctor HRM Reagents to simplify SNP analyses and to characterize new variants in candidate genes for immunology and cancer research studies.
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