Qiagen, Germantown, Md, and Hilden, Germany, has launched a range of new solutions designed to advance cancer research using molecular testing tools from Qiagen’s portfolio.
The new products include solution bundles for all QIAseq and QIAact DNA panels for next-generation sequencing (NGS), created by integrating the company’s CLC Genomics Workbench and Qiagen Clinical Insight-Interpret software with the assay panels for seamless secondary analysis and tertiary interpretation of complex genomic data.
Qiagen also introduced its exoRNeasy midi and maxi kits for isolation of exosomes and other extracellular vesicles from urine and other samples, as well as the miRNeasy 96 advanced QIAcube HT kit for automated purification of total RNA, including miRNA, from serum and plasma samples. These are two novel liquid biopsy workflows for cancer research designed to enable noninvasive extraction and purification of ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Thomas Schweins, Qiagen.
“Qiagen is committed to providing solutions that enable breakthroughs in cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment,” says Thomas Schweins, PhD, senior vice president and head of Qiagen’s life sciences business area. “We are rapidly expanding our portfolio of novel approaches for noninvasive liquid biopsies, adding new tools for the discovery and validation of biomarkers, as well as supporting the development of new tests for precision medicine. In addition, we are excited to offer researchers a new option to significantly simplify workflows by integrating cutting-edge bioinformatics for variant calling and interpretation with our sample-to-insight NGS panels.”
The new exoRNeasy midi and exoRNeasy maxi kits use membrane affinity technology to efficiently isolate high-purity RNA from exosomes and other extracellular vesicles circulating in most common biofluids, including cell culture supernatant, cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, serum, and urine. Exosomes are tiny enclosures that can transport molecules such as RNA from one cell to another.
Results with the exoRNeasy kits are fast, consistent, and highly suited to sensitive downstream applications, with a convenient procedure providing access to RNA in just 1 hour. RNA purification can be automated on the QIAcube Connect sample processing instrument.
The midi column enables efficient processing of smaller sample volumes (1 mL of serum or plasma, and 4 mL or less of urine), while the maxi format allows the use of large sample volumes (up to 4 mL of serum or plasma, 16 mL of urine, and 32 mL of cell culture supernatant) to detect low-abundance RNAs with high confidence.
The miRNeasy 96 Advanced QIAcube HT kit is designed for automated high-throughput purification of cell-free total RNA—primarily miRNA and other small RNA—from small volumes of serum and plasma, using the QIAcube HT instrument. Unlike kits from other suppliers, the miRNeasy 96 Advanced kit combines ease of use and a phenol-free protocol without any compromise on RNA quality or yield.
The miRNeasy 96 Advanced kit represents the mid- to high-throughput version of Qiagen’s miRNeasy Advanced serum/plasma kit. The phenol-free protocol uses easy-to-automate spin column technology in a 96-well format, and minimizes hands-on time to remove contaminants and inhibitors, yielding high-quality RNA ready for downstream analysis. The kit is compatible with the majority of blood collection devices, and can be automated on the QIAcube HT, a version of the QIAcube designed for automated mid- to high-throughput nucleic acid purification in a 96-well format.
Qiagen has also launched new options for customers to streamline NGS analysis and interpretation by bundling the company’s bioinformatics solutions with preconfigured QIAseq DNA panels and custom panels for use on any sequencing platform, as well as with QIAact targeted gene and custom panels for use on its GeneReader NGS system. The new assay-and-software bundles include Qiagen’s CLC Genomics Workbench and Clinical Insight-Interpret (QCI-I) for QIAseq DNA panels and QCI-I for QIAact panels. Qiagen’s GeneReader NGS system already includes Clinical Insight-Analyze (QCI-A) for data analysis.
CLC Genomics Workbench is the industry’s leading software for secondary analysis, with point-and-click processing, excellent sensitivity, and precision in calling variants for different DNA regions and coverage levels. The variant call format (VCF) results file uploads seamlessly to QCI-I, reducing the time, cost, and complexity of variant interpretation. QCI-I provides access to the Qiagen knowledgebase of scientific and clinical findings, and generates sample reports that place NGS findings in biological context, including actionable insights to support sound research decisions.
For further information, visit Qiagen.
