Research covers multigene expression signature profiling and digital PCR for detection of mutant cancer cells.

Ghent University has decided to use Roche’s LightCycler® 1536 Instrument in various cancer research projects. Studies include multigene expression signature profiling on cancer research samples and digital PCR for detection of mutant cancer cells in a background of normal cells.

Furthermore, DNA methylation analysis studies, copy number variant screening, and amplicon generation for next-generation sequencing are part of the planned experiments. Ghent researchers also point to one study in particular, which is a qPCR-based transcriptome-wide profiling. In a pilot experiment, Ghent University plans to measure all human genes in the four MAQC reference RNA samples.

The LightCycler® 1536 Instrument supports the combination of two excitation filters with two detection filters, which are optimized for detecting green intercalating dyes as well as monocolor and dual-color hydrolysis probes. This makes optical read-out as specific as possible for chemical detection formats, while reducing the overall complexity of experimental layouts in a high-throughput scenario, according to Roche.

The LightCycler® 1536 Multiwell Plate is a high-density PCR plate for real-time PCR applications. By using Thermaxis® technology, this multiwell plate enables thermal performance in miniaturized reaction volumes of 0.5–2 µL. The plate consists of two components: a thermally conductive unit containing well-like structures for the reaction liquid and an insulating top layer that prevents the heated lid of the instrument from affecting the analysis.

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