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Fluidigm Launches Early Access Program for SNP Genotyping Platform

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Fluidigm said today that it has launched an early access program for its new SNP genotyping platform, the Juno system, for its key production genomics customers and prospects.

Juno is a sample prep engine for SNP genotyping that allows scientists to genotype low-concentration DNA samples from tissue, buccal swabs, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, and polyploidy organisms in less than three hours, Fluidigm said.

Traditionally, SNP genotyping requires high-concentration and -quality samples, and substantial amounts of reagents, resulting in high operating costs, the company added. These requirements have hampered the practical use of low-concentration DNA samples, such as buccal swabs and FFPE, in production genomics.

The Juno system uses an integrated fluidic circuit that incorporates pre-amplification and genotyping of up to 96 samples and 96 assays on a single chip. The system also requires as little as 5.5 nanograms of DNA at a concentration of 2.5 nanograms per microliter of sample, the company said.

Fluidigm is also releasing new master mix chemistries that combine all of the reagents need to perform integrated genotyping on the Juno system.

Targeted uses for the Juno system include sample identification, quality control, and DNA fingerprinting by biobanking and cell culture facilities, and integrated on-chip pre-amplification and genotyping analysis by Ag-Bio customers, Fluidigm said.

"Our production genomics customers commonly struggle with highly variable or low-concentration samples, whether they come from a buccal swab, a needle biopsy, a seed, or a biobank. Juno is an answer to this challenge," CEO Gajus Worthington said in a statement.

The company hasn't yet named any participants in the early access program for the Juno system.

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