Illumina announced the launch of its BeadXpress System this week. The system is based on its proprietary VeraCode digital microbead technology, which uses digital microbeads to provide broad multiplexing capability and assay flexibility.
“The two-color laser detection capability of the BeadXpress system is ideally suited for low- to mid multiplex experiments,” the company highlighted. “Using this system, researchers can assay tens to hundreds of analytes in a single sample at one time.”
The system has broad applicability in biomarker research and validation, pharmaceutical development, industrial testing, agriculture, clinical research, and the development of molecular diagnostic assays.
Illumina said it has already begun shipping its BeadXpress systems and companion reagent kits.
The BeadXpress system and VeraCode technology were successfully piloted at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Pittsburgh, Illumina reported. In January, the company announced research collaborations with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Mayo Clinic to develop screening assays that profile inherited and complex diseases using VeraCode technology.
“These agreements are an example of our potential to implement new research and clinical tests in the diagnostic market,” the company said in a statement.