Eppendorf recently launched the Mastercycler Nexus X1, the latest addition to the company's Mastercycler range of PCR instruments.
The Nexus X1 provides increased heating and cooling rates by combining Mastercycler Nexus software with a fast 96-well block. The instrument has a heating rate of 5 °C/second, making run times very short and allowing several users over the course of a day. The company also said the system is designed for low power consumption and low noise emission.
Agilent Technologies this week introduced the SureSelect strand-specific RNA library preparation kit for whole-transcriptome and targeted RNA sequencing.
The kit enables researchers to prepare high-quality, strand-specific libraries for next-generation sequencing, Agilent said. The ability to gain strand-specific information from RNA-seq experiments allows researchers to more easily discern overlapping transcripts and investigate antisense expression for greater understanding of gene regulation, the company added.
The kit has been optimized to provide uniform coverage of the entire transcript through greater library complexity and less 5'/3' bias, even with small amounts of starting material (as low as 50 ng), Agilent said.
NuGen this week launched the Mondrian SP+ workstation.
Mondrian SP+ extends the functionality of the Mondrian SP workstation by incorporating Peltier heating and cooling into the digital microfluidic platform.
The company said that this enables "seamless integration of library enrichment in fully automated workflows." The expanded menu of protocols will include ultralow-input DNA and RNA-seq library preparation in addition to fully integrated RNA-seq library preparation incorporating strand selection. NuGen has also introduced a range of optimized reagent kits for use with the system, and is offering an upgrade option for current Mondrian SP Workstation users.