High-res scanner for current, next-gen microarrays

The new scanner is designed to deliver higher quality data from current 65-micron-feature microarrays and to provide equally superior output from the 30-micron features of Agilent million-feature microarrays planned for introduction later in 2008.

"We're building an integrated genomics solution, and this next-generation scanner is designed to fit seamlessly into customers' workflows now and for many years to come," said Yvonne Linney, Agilent vice president and general manager, genomics.

"This is a dynamic marketplace, and it's Agilent's mission to provide advanced tools with the flexibility and performance to make a real difference in scientists' work".

The new Agilent DNA microarray scanner offers resolutions of 10microns, 5microns, 3microns and 2microns, and the instrument can scan a 244,000 feature microarray at the maximum resolution in as quickly as 20 minutes.

It features a dynamic range that is up to 20 times greater than other scanners, which permits high-sensitivity scanning without saturation.

The new scanner is based on the existing, proven platform, a 48-slide scanning system using Agilent's SureScan technology.

Agilent has developed new optics, electronics and software to deliver this level of performance.

These features can be retrofitted to the previous model Agilent scanner through an onsite update.

It can read a mix of 1x3inch glass slide microarrays for gene expression, aCGH, ChIP-on-chip and miRNA applications.

The Agilent DNA Microarray Scanner is delivered as an integrated platform, complete with PC, barcode reader and image analysis software complete with QC reporting features.

This level of integration provides walk-away operation for scanning, image analysis and array quality assessment.

Extracted data can then be easily collected and linked to downstream analysis packages such as Agilent's Genespring software.