Roche Nimblegen has launched Nimblegen comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) microarrays in a 12x135K format for analysis of DNA copy number variation.
Nimblegen CGH 12x135K arrays allow simultaneous analysis of 12 independent sample pairs on a single microarray slide, each with 135,000 empirically tested long oligonucleotide probes.
This array format will enable rapid analysis of DNA copy number variation associated with human genetic disease, genomic disorders, cancer, and other complex diseases for research purposes.
Similar to the Nimblegen 2.1 million feature (2.1M) arrays, the 12x135K arrays are manufactured on Roche Nimblegen's HD2 platform, a light-directed microarray synthesiser with increased system contrast providing improved sensitivity and reproducibility.
The launch of Nimblegen CGH 12x135K arrays is further supported with a new release of Nimblescan v2.5 software that includes an experimental metrics report and enhanced analysis features for Nimblegen CGH arrays.
A single catalogue array design, Human CGH 12x135K Whole-Genome Tiling v2.0, is available and enables genome-wide detection of copy number gains and losses down to approximately 100kb in size.
Similar to the Nimblegen human whole-genome designs currently available in 2.1M, 385K, and 4x72K array formats, the Human CGH 12x135K Whole-Genome Tiling v2.0 array has enhanced probe coverage of segmental duplication regions that are often associated with pathogenic chromosomal rearrangements.
For researchers interested in targeted analysis of chromosomal regions, genes, or copy number variants (CNVs), Roche Nimblegen offers rapid creation of custom arrays for any eukaryotic organism.
Custom CGH array designs consisting of either uniform or mixed-density probe spacing can be created for all available array formats (12x135K, 2.1M, 385K, 4x72K) and may include whole genomes, single chromosomal regions, or multiple loci of interest.
Nimblegen CGH 2.1M arrays offer ultra-high resolution detection of CNVs, down to 5kb resolution using a single Human CGH 2.1M Whole-Genome Tiling v2.0 array.
'These tools will facilitate the identification of genetic variants associated with a variety of rare and common diseases including diabetes, cancer, psychiatric disorders and autoimmune disease,' said Gerd Maass, chief executive officer of Roche Nimblegen.
