The GenElute HP 96-well Plasmid Miniprep Kit enables up to 10 micrograms of high-copy plasmid DNA to be recovered from just 1.3ml of bacterial culture in less than 50 minutes.
The kit has been designed to complement Sigma's MISSION shRNA (short hairpin RNA) product line used for RNAi (RNA interference) screening of human and mouse genes.
Traditionally, commercially available 'miniprep' plasmid purification systems have been limited by poor product purity and low yields, leaving researchers needing to conduct large-scale preparations to obtain enough plasmid DNA for subsequent gene manipulation and protein expression studies.
In recent years, various companies have developed systems aimed at overcoming these problems and have been welcomed with varying levels of success.
Sigma-Aldrich believes its system can generate best-in-class viral titers when compared to plasmids purified using competing products.
According to the firm, the transfection of human embryonic kidney cells with MISSION shRNA plasmid DNA clones purified using the GenElute kit can be twice as effective as plasmids purified using two (unnamed) competing products.
They state the plasmid DNA was isolated according to the protocols recommended by the different miniprep suppliers before using the plasmid DNA to transfect HEK293T cells.
Titer measurements of the resulting lentiviral particles were then determined using p24-based ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
The kit has been designed to be used either manually using a vacuum manifold or in combination with automated liquid handling workstations, to enable researchers to use the latest high-throughput systems used in siRNA screening studies.
"With the GenElute HP 96-Well Plasmid Miniprep Kit, our customers will be able to generate the highest viral titer transfection-grade plasmid DNA in a simple, reproducible manner," said Tim Fleming, director for global commercial marketing at Sigma-Aldrich.
"This kit extends our GenElute HP product line into the high-throughput plasmid purification market and allows our customers to significantly increase their productivity."