Fluidigm scientists have showcased results generated on integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) based systems that translate into compelling advances for the qPCR field.
IFCs now have the capability to cover discovery through validation for research in such areas as stem cell development, cancer research, and next-generation sequencing.
These areas all rely on PCR for its sensitive detection of DNA molecules.
Ken Livak, senior scientific fellow at Fluidigm, spoke about the critical roles IFCs can play in the investigation of stem cell development, tumorigenesis, and disease progression.
He noted that the analysis of transcript levels for multiple genes across many single-cell samples is required and best delivered by IFC technology.
He said: 'Real-time qPCR used to be too laborious to use as a discovery technique, but that is no longer true.
'IFCs now enable qPCR at reaction densities suitable for both discovery and validation studies and they are very easy to set up and to run.' Historically, microarrays have been the only available discovery tool, but that technology was notorious for lacking the sensitivity of real-time PCR.
Sandra Spurgeon, senior application scientist at Fluidigm, explained why IFCs are the superior alternative to traditional microwell plates when performing large-scale analysis of gene expression levels in multiple samples.
Scientists can envision much more ambitious studies when they take advantage of the 100-fold reduction in pipetting steps and other efficiencies possible only with IFCs, according to Spurgeon.
Alain Mir, senior scientist at Fluidigm, reported on how IFCs and the 5' nuclease PCR assays are used to study variations in gene copy number (CNV).
He said: 'High-density digital PCR is truly revolutionary.
'It provides a direct and practical way to partition a sample into many reactions and literally count the reactions containing at least one copy of the target.' CNV status of patients has been shown to be key to understanding drug metabolism outcomes.
Fluidigm's Biomark digital array is an IFC designed specifically for digital PCR.
This chip partitions a sample premixed with PCR reagents into 765 replicate reactions, thus allowing the absolute quantification of target sequences.
Digital arrays transform digital PCR into a straightforward approach for PCR applications demanding extreme accuracy of copy number.
The Fluidigm presentations were given at the recent QPCR Symposium in Millbrae, California.
The symposium comprises an elite gathering of international qPCR experts - an exchange of knowledge on all things qPCR, from chemistry to data analysis.
The trio of Fluidigm talks focused on why the exponentially higher qPCR throughput of IFCs will ignite progress in emerging applications.
In addition to Fluidigm scientists, Dr Tomer Kalinsky, from the Stanford Department of Bioengineering, delivered a presentation on the use of the Fluidigm IFCs to predict the presence and behaviour of what are thought to be cancer stem cells.
