NEW YORK, Dec. 20 — Xtrana and liquid filtration developer CUNO have agreed to jointly develop and license new membranes for nucleic acid sample preparation in microorganism detection, the companies said on Thursday.
The products, to be called XBN membranes, will be generated by pairing Xtrana's nucleic acid-extraction technology with CUNO's nylon microporous membranes.
The membranes will be designed to rapidly detect and identify small amounts of microorganisms in large volumes of fluid, the firms said. The membranes will capture and stabilize nucleic acids from relevant organisms, making them available for PCR or other amplification methods. The companies expect them to be useful in food and beverage processing, clinical settings, and research labs.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Xtrana also plans to develop and market a nucleic acid sample preparation, amplification and detection system that will use the XBN membrane. CUNO will also sell the product as part of a nucleic acid sample preparation platform.
Xtrana, based in Broomfield, Colo., focuses on improving and simplifying nucleic acid analysis and developing detection systems. The company anticipates applications in drug discovery, food and environmental contaminant detection, forensics, and disease diagnosis, among others. Its current product allows for nucleic acid extraction, amplification, and detection in a single microcentrifuge tube.
CUNO, a publicly held company based in Meriden, Conn., designs, manufactures, and markets filtration products for diagnostics, drinking water, health care, biotechnology, and fluid processing applications.