Bio-Rad Laboratories has launched the ddPCR KRAS Screening Multiplex Kit to its Droplet Digital PCR line of predesigned, fully wet-lab validated assays.
The ddPCR KRAS Screening Multiplex Kit offers improved sensitivity and simultaneous detection of the seven most common KRAS mutations in a single ddPCR experiment.
KRAS mutations are found in 90% of pancreatic cancer cases and 30% of colorectal cancer cases, making it a gene of great interest to cancer researchers.
The Multiplex Kit is able to detect and quantify extremely low levels (down to 0.2%) of KRAS mutant DNA in a single assay.
Cancer samples are often available in limited quantities. Using the Multiplex Kit, researchers can derive results from low amounts of starting material.
“The KRAS Screening Multiplex Kit delivers a simple yes/no answer as to whether a KRAS mutation exists in smaller samples,” said Filip Janku of the University of Texas.
“If researchers were to test for the presence of each possible mutation they could end up performing seven to ten separate PCR experiments only to discover the sample was negative. Multiplex kits such as the KRAS Screening Multiplex Kit allow researchers to screen for multiple mutations in a single reaction, saving time and costly resources.”
Bio-Rad’s ddPCR technology provides an absolute measure of target DNA molecules without the need for a standard curve.
Together with the ddPCR KRAS Screening Multiplex Kit, the technology enables detection of a single mutant molecule in a background of 2,000 wild-type molecules (0.05% mutation frequency).
ddPCR KRAS Screening Multiplex Kits are compatible with all of Bio-Rad’s Droplet Digital PCR Systems, including the QX200 AutoDG Droplet Digital PCR System.
