Hiking resolution in gene expression studies
Zeptosens and signal processing software from US firm ViaLogy has
provided a quantum leap in the sensitivity of gene expression
testing in a new study.
Zeptosens develops and sells microarrays based on a planar waveguide (PWG) technology, designed to increase the sensitivity and signal discrimination of samples. The company conducted an experiment in which one of its SensiChip arrays was combined with ViaLogy's Quantum Resonance Interferometry (QRI) signal processing software.
The study, which will be submitted for publication in a peer-review journal, reveals a 50-fold improvement in the limit of quantification and a 10-fold reduction in data variance compared to the use of a SensiChip alone.
The results "far exceed anything published on commercial microarray systems currently available," according to the Swiss firm.
Using the two technologies in tandem, the resolution of the system improved dramatically, with accurate quantification of total RNA in samples down to 10ng, with the lower end of this sensitivity range not established in this study. This is equivalent to the amount of RNA in a 1,000-cell sample, noted Zeptosens.
"This sensitivity enables direct and thus unbiased use of SensiChips for studies on 96 and 384 microtitre plate cell-cultures, fine needle tissue biopsies, and specimens prepared by laser dissection," it said.
This boost in performance means that the technology could be used in new applications such as rapid, quantitative screening of drug targets and biomarkers in micro cell-cultures, as well as for analysis of micro-sections of cancer tissues and micro cell suspensions without the need for enzymatic reagents to amplify the signal.
As a consequence, reagent costs, labour, time, as well as information distortion often associated with such processes can be significantly reduced and higher throughput achieved, claimed Zeptosens.
