Qiagen last week launched the QIAensemble Decapper automation system for sample prep in liquid-based cytology and other liquid samples used in clinical laboratory testing.
The open platform system enables laboratories to automate many tedious manual steps required for unscrewing, or decapping, the lids of clinical sample vials, extracting the sample material, pipetting it into testing vials, and recapping the clinical sample vials.
QIAensemble Decapper can process up to approximately 800 samples per shift (excluding set-up time and post-processing requirements); and accommodates a variety of fluid types of variable viscosity for both samples and reagents. The software system provides laboratory staff with a comprehensive and user-friendly report for each run; and offers chain of custody and an ability to identify samples that were not properly transferred.
Mo Bio Laboratories this week launched the PowerPlant Pro DNA and PowerPlant RNA isolation kits, designed to simplify isolation of pure DNA and RNA from even difficult plant samples.
The kits feature optimized bead beating technology, which replaces time-consuming isolation procedures such as CTAB, phenol, or chloroform extraction for recovery of high-quality nucleic acids from the most difficult sample types, including strawberry leaf, cotton leaf, cotton seeds, and pine needles, Mo Bio said. Patented inhibitor removal technology removes PCR inhibitors from plant extracts during the isolation process, resulting in pure DNA or RNA that is ready to use in downstream applications including PCR, qPCR, and sequencing.