The University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center in has acquired a 2470 microarray printer from Aushon Biosystems, Aushon said last week.
The instrument will be the second Aushon printer the Houston-based institution has obtained for its Functional Proteomics Reverse Phase Protein Array Facility, a core that serves all researchers at MD Anderson as well as other academic and commercial organizations.
Aushon spokesperson Alan Poon told BioArray News that MD Anderson required another printer to meet "extremely high demand" for RPPA data. He said that thanks to the placement, "high-throughput biomarker research and diagnostic testing on cancer patients' protein pathways and drug reactions will be significantly expanded."
Gordon Mills, chairman of the department of systems biology at MD Anderson, said in a statement that the RPPA facility can print more than 1,000 serially diluted samples and 1,000 controls on hundreds of slides with one 2470 instrument. The setup has enabled the facility to analyze about 200 different proteins and their modifications per project.
According to Mills, the RPPA Facility is among the "most utilized" at MD Anderson. With the acquisition of a second Aushon printer, the "RPPA core, as well as other RPPA users affiliated with the department of systems biology, will be able to greatly increase the output of RPPA data," he said.
Aushon's 2470 microarrayer enables users to print DNA, proteins, cell lysates, and other samples using its pin-based deposition technology. Launched in 2006, the system is automated and allows users to print onto various substrates, including slides, membranes, microtiter well plates, disks, wafers, and chips, according to the Billerica, Mass.-based firm.
The company has announced a number of deals in recent years, including sales of the 2470 to the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Mich., Swedish diagnostics firm Phadia, and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (BAN 6/22/2010).