Schleicher & Schuell BioScience of Keene, NH, this week launched the FAST Frame multi-slide plate, a novel platform for high throughput processing of microarrays. Designed for use with 16-pad FAST Slides and the corresponding 16-well incubation chambers, the multi-slide plate allows processing of up to 64 arrays at one time.
The 96-well spacing of the array pads on FAST Slides makes the loaded FAST Frame compatible with automated liquid handling systems and 8-channel manual pipettors. The rows and columns on each plate are labeled for indexing and sample application. The slides and chambers are held tightly in place, yet are easily inserted and removed and the silicone chambers create leak-free wells that allow the use of multiple samples without cross-contamination.The FAST Frame uses 16-pad FAST Slides as the array platform. The FAST Slides' 3-dimensional, nitrocellulose matrix is compatible with protein microarrays due to its high binding capacity and influence on arrayed protein stability. Pricing was not available.
Roche officially introduced its Affymetrix-platform diagnostic CYP450 AmpliChip, which the conmpany said will initially cost $350-$400 per test. The chip, manufactured by Affymetrix, probes for more than 30 polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 area, and two in CYP2C19, and it also detects inherited deletions or duplications.