Enzo Life Sciences Launches New Advanced Amplification Technology For Gene Expression Analysis Studies
Changes Paradigm of Gene Expression Microarray Analysis And Overcomes Limitations of Standard Methods
The wholly owned subsidiary of Enzo Biochem, Enzo Life Sciences, has launched a new amplification method aimed at improving gene expression data derived from microarray experiments.
The relatively large amounts of RNA sample required to carry out microarray analysis often cannot be obtained easily from many common sources, especially those derived from biopsies or microdissection. Additionally, rare and valuable RNA samples require preservation by researchers for future studies. With Enzo's new amplification system, researchers relying on microarray expression data may now obtain enhanced results, efficiently amplifying the relevant messenger RNA sequences while faithfully maintaining sample integrity, even after extensive amplification.
The new amplification method has the potential to amplify either the antisense or sense strand of RNA, thereby providing versatility for application to any type of microarray. The amplification method is being marketed by Enzo Life Sciences in various formats, enabling researchers to select the strand to be amplified, as well as select modules for achieving the level of sensitivity desired. The first product, now on the market, amplifies the antisense strand of RNA.
Dr. Shui Quing Ye, MD Ph.D at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care said, "We tried several other amplification methods and Enzo's method stands out. Enzo's method yields results consistent with an experiment that requires no amplification, as is the case when one has abundant levels of starting material."
Commented Dafeng Zhou, Ph.D. at Monsanto Company, St. Louis: "The Enzo kit has produced good results with the plant samples that we have tested. Although we found Enzo's procedure to require more hands-on time and detail than other amplification methods, in science you often need to spend a little more time and effort to obtain high quality results."
"Offering this breakthrough technology to the research community in a simple-to-use kit format represents another contribution from Enzo in the standardization of microarray expression data," said Jim Chinitz, Enzo Life Sciences Vice President of Business Development. "We embarked on this project in response to our customers telling us that their most commonly used amplification methods all suffer from the same insufficiencies. Other alternative methods recently introduced into the marketplace emphasize convenience, but they significantly compromise the quality of the data produced. However, by combining Enzo's new amplification method with our Company's gold standard biotin RNA labeling chemistry, we have produced a product with sensitivity down to 5 nanograms, and theoretically down to a single cell of input RNA. The yield of material along with the maintenance of the sample integrity is the key advantage, as evidenced by very low 3'5' ratios for long and short genes represented on a microarray."
Enzo's BioArray(TM) RNA Amplification and Labeling System supplies all reagents for the amplification and biotin labeling of antisense RNA for use with eukaryotic gene expression microarrays. The system includes a cDNA synthesis and in vitro transcription module and the gold standard biotin-labeled ribonucleotide mix. Advantages over commercially available methods include: the use of 2 biotin-labeled nucleotides for maximum incorporation and signal, and the maintenance of sample integrity through multiple rounds of amplification as evidenced by excellent 3' 5' ratios. These attributes provide genetic researchers with reproducible and standardized results experiment to experiment, project to project and lab to lab.
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