High-resolution imaging of microarrays

Benefiting from a state-of-the-art optical system and new software, the next generation Aquire confocal scanner from Genetix provides simple and rapid high-resolution imaging of microarrays.

The extended linear range and low crosstalk possible from the Aquire optical system enables generation of meaningful expression data from all arrays.

Real-time control of photo multiplier tube and amplified signal adjustments combined with sensitivity control for optimal laser line setting and focus adjustment ensures the most accurate results with minimum background, says the company.

Offered as standard with dual filters and lasers for simultaneous acquisition of Cy3 and Cy5 dyes, the Aquire also supports a range of additional dyes with the capacity for up to six filters.

The Aquire has the flexibility to image a range of scanning areas and slide types including wet preparations with or without cover slips.

A new slide loader ensures smooth and precise introduction of samples. Designed for the occasional or advanced user the new QScan acquisition and analysis software package allows complete control of the Aquire scanning process, including selection of the area of the slide to scan, the scan resolution and the fluorescence sensitivity settings.

The new software has been specially designed for ease of use, with intuitive spot-finding functions facilitating the generation of high-quality scientific data in a short space of time.

A low resolution 30µm scan provides a quick preview of the slide, while a high resolution scan of 5 or 10µm provides maximum resolving ability for smaller features.

A high sensitivity setting improves image quality further by averaging across several samples within a given resolution, and simultaneous scans of both channels reduce total scan time.

Photo multiplier tube and other detection settings are adjustable to optimise scan quality, and can be adjusted during a scan to allow fine-tuning.

Subsequent scans can use the same settings to facilitate batch processing of multiple slides.

QScan generates a range of fundamental statistics, which are displayed in a data table and a scatterplot.

A variety of background subtraction methods are also available.

User-definable groups of spots can be colour-coded for easy visualisation.

The data can be exported for more extensive analysis such as data mining or cluster analysis with the user's choice of third party software.