NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Seegene said this week that it has developed a new real-time PCR technology called MDisc designed to enable multi-threshold cycle (Ct) values in a single channel for multi-target detection.
In order to detect more than two target genes in a single fluorescent channel, current real-time PCR technologies must use melt curve analysis after amplification, Seegene said. However, endpoint melt curve analysis after a PCR step leads to longer total turnaround time, and target sequence variations on probe-binding regions likely lead to melt temperature variations, the company said. In addition, endpoint analysis does not readily enable quantification.
Seegene said that MDisc transforms real-time PCR into a "vastly more powerful" technology capable of simultaneously amplifying and detecting multiple target genes in a single channel without melt curve analysis.
Other benefits of the technology include cost savings, as multiple channels are not necessary for multiple target detection or quantification; freedom from well-to-well and instrument-to-instrument variations, and the ability to select fluorescent dyes regardless of the real-time PCR instrument, as optical filter sets are typically designed to maximize fluorescence detection only for specific dyes in specific channels, Seegene said.
"MDisc is the world's very first technology for multi Ct in a single channel and opens a new chapter for PCR-based research applications and molecular diagnostics," Chun Jong-Yoon, founder, CEO, and CTO of Seegene, said in a statement. "The accurate measurement of both the amount and the number of different pathogens present is required for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of disease. Adding the power of simultaneous multi-quantification to real-time PCR will deliver a more comprehensive and actionable diagnosis for improved patient care and reduced healthcare costs."
The new technology adds to Seegene's stable of proprietary molecular analysis tools, which include tagging oligonucleotide capture and extension, or TOCE, and dual-priming oligonucleotide, or DPO, technologies.
Seegene, which has offices in Seoul, South Korea, and Gaithersburg, Md., uses its nucleic acid analysis technologies to produce commercial molecular diagnostic kits. The company also has several licensing and collaborative agreements with multiple entities in the diagnostic space and applied markets such as food safety.