The reflective optical layer on Scott's Nexterion HiSens significantly enhances sensitivity and signal response by a process of fluorescence enhancement and reflection of the emitted light
Schott has launched the next generation of microarray slides: Nexterion HiSens (high sensitivity).
These slides increase the signal to noise ratios of microarray experiments by over eight times and were developed using the company's optical coating technology.
Developed and used exclusively by Schott, the reflective optical layer on Nexterion HiSens significantly enhances sensitivity and signal response by a process of fluorescence enhancement and reflection of the emitted light.
Nexterion HiSens's reflective optical coating technology improves microarray users' ability to use fluorescent dyes as labels in their experiments.
The use of fluorescent dyes helps scientists to detect two or more different dyes simultaneously.
With conventional slides the use of fluorescent dyes prevent microarray scanners from operating at their maximum efficiency, as they are only able to acquire a small proportion of the total fluorescence emitted from the spots on the slides.
However, the new Nexterion HiSens reflective coating overcomes this limitation, and enables scientists using fluorescent dyes to operate their microarray scanners at maximum efficiency.
Nexterion HiSens slides' improved signal to noise ratio also improves scientists' ability to detect low concentration or difficult to amplify target materials such as mRNAs or low abundant proteins.
In addition, the Nexterion HiSens optical coating produces reliable and reproducible signals from low expressor genes.
Current users of conventional slides can easily upgrade to Nexterion HiSens, as Nexterion HiSens slides are fully compatible with all microarray printing technologies and most common slide processing protocols.
In addition, the characteristics of the Nexterion HiSens slides' reflective layers have been tuned to the fluorescent wavelengths most commonly used in microarray experiments, and will simultaneously enhance the signal in both channels.
This enables scientists to use standard data normalization methods and directly compare data from Nexterion HiSens slides with data previously produced with conventional slides.
Nexterion HiSens use an ultra-flat, high quality borosilicate glass slide coated with the reflective optical layer.
They are manufactured with either a high quality epoxy or aminosilane functional coating, under class 100 clean room conditions in a state of the art production facility.
Schott's Nexterion microarray division specialises in high quality microarray products.
As such, the company develops and markets a wide range of coated and uncoated glass substrates for DNA and protein microarraying under the brand Nexterion.
Schott 's Nexterion division has created a unique competence centre for microarray products in Jena, the centre of the German biotecholgy industry.
Schott is a technology-driven international group that sees its core purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions through special materials and high-technology.
Its main areas of focus are the household appliance industry, pharmaceutical packaging, optics and opto-electronics, information technology, consumer electronics, lighting, automotive engineering and solar energy.
Schott has a presence in close proximity to its customers through highly efficient production and sales companies in all of its major markets.
It has more than 17,200 employees producing worldwide sales of approximately $2billion.
