DNA extraction for all, says Mole Genetics
extraction/purification system to the European market.
The new system called 'GeneMole' is set to make DNA research much easier and more accessible to smaller laboratories and was previously trialled in Norway and Sweden before general release. The €9,500 GeneMole is fully enclosed and automatic comprising a liquid handling unit which is capable of running up to 16 samples at one time. For the first time a low cost automatic DNA extraction and purification system will be available to research laboratories. Tone Yrvum, marketing director of Mole Genetics, commented: "Until now laboratories have been forced down the route of expensive systems which is restricting their use to laboratories with the best research financing. On the other hand, manual preparation kits continue to be extremely time consuming and stressful. With GeneMole, we want to make low throughput automated DNA purification available to any laboratory. Our initial trials in Norway and Sweden have proved the attractiveness of this concept with all the trial sites converting to actually purchase an instrument." The GeneMole is simple to operate with a set up time of just three minutes and programming via a touch screen menu (system requires very minimal maintenance). The samples are loaded in a standard rack and then transferred by robot to a MoleStrip. The MoleStrip is a sealed module, which is prefilled with all the required reagents to purify genomic DNA from a single blood/tissue sample (this eliminates contamination). This includes lysis buffer, magnetic beads, two different washing buffers and also elution buffer (nucleic acids are ready in 40 minutes). The module is pierced by the machine to introduce the sample and sample volumes can be run in the range from 50-200 µl. There are various launch protocols and MoleStrips that are available for DNA blood, DNA tissue, RNA cells and RNA tissue. The blood samples for processing may be fresh or frozen and can also contain anticoagulants including EDTA, heparin and citrate. Taking blood as an example the yield of the DNA from 200 µl of a human whole blood sample with a normal WBC (white blood cell) count can yield 20-25 µg/ml with a purity of OD A260/A280, in the range 1.80-1.95. Mole Genetics is a private Norwegian life science company which was started in 2005 and is involved in the development of products to aid in biomedical research and nucleic acid diagnostic systems. GeneMole is marketed by VWR in Europe and will be aimed at both large and small clinical and diagnostic laboratories.
