Applied Biosystems has announced the commercial availability of 300 individual TaqMan microRNA assays for human, mouse, and rat studies.

ABI said that the assays are based on a simple two-step process using the company's proprietary stem-loop technology for reverse transcription of the mature microRNA followed by quantitative real-time PCR. In preliminary studies, the assays were able to quantify microRNAs in samples as small as 25 picograms of total RNA and discriminate between highly homologous mature microRNAs, such as the hsa-let-7 family.