The expanded portfolio includes the EpiTect whole bisulphitome kit, the first kit for amplification of the entire bisulphite-converted genome (bisulphitome)
Research critical to the study of epigenetics will be significantly enhanced through greater standardisation, thanks to five new products launched this month by Qiagen.
The significant expansion of the company's new EpiTect product line addresses the needs of scientists' entire workflow, from sample collection to result.
Epigenetics is one of the fastest-growing areas of life science research, spurring significant advancements in gene function analysis and the study of molecular diagnostics of cancers and other diseases.
Epigenetics focuses on differences in gene regulation and expression resulting from DNA methylation.
However, this research area is challenging, due to a lack of standardised methods for yielding reproducible data particularly from tiny amounts of sample material.
With the Epitect product line, Qiagen addresses the growing demand for standardised products for complete workflows in epigenetics, ranging from the already launched kit for bisulfite conversion to the kits now being launched for whole bisulfitome amplification and highly sensitive methylation assays.
Qiagen's new EpiTect products are:.
EpiTect whole bisulfitome kit: a novel solution for reliable and convenient amplification of the entire bisulfite-converted genome.
The kit incorporates proven Repli-g technology and is adapted to smaller DNA fragment size and modified nucleotide composition resulting from bisulfite conversion.
EpiTect MSP kit: includes a unique genetically engineered DNA polymerase for end-point methylation-specific PCR (MSP), providing highly specific discrimination between methylated and unmethylated cytosine after bisulfite conversion.
False-positive results are thus significantly reduced.
EpiTect MethyLight PCR kit: the most sensitive kit on the market for quantitative analysis of methylated DNA using probe based real-time PCR.
Using just one sample, this product enables the quantification and differentiation of even small variations in methylated and unmethylated DNA.
EpiTect MethyLight assay: these first-to-market, probe-based real-time assays enable the standardized quantification and differentiation of methylated and unmethylated DNA for six selected genes related to cancer.
EpiTect Control DNA: the first ready-to-use, bisulfite-converted DNA for highly reliable methylation-control experiments.
"With the greatly expanded EpiTect portfolio, our customers now have a set of standardised and convenient tools optimized for epigenetics.
"The Epitect product line enables them to perform reliable sample and assay processes - from bisulfite conversion to accurate DNA methylation analysis," said Gerald Schock, global product manager at Qiagen.
"The EpiTect products make epigenetic research easier and more reliable than ever before."
