CMA/aCGH Automation

Lowers Operating Costs and Enhances Test Reliability

As CMA diagnostic testing expands, cytogenetic and molecular pathology laboratories will require additional capacity to effectively process ever increasing numbers of samples. SciGene offers a robotic platform to meet this demand by automating the complex, tedious benchwork required to process DNA microarrays used in CMA testing.

Starting with patient DNA, specialized instruments work together to perform all labeling through post-hybridization microarray processing steps; producing consistently high quality arrays ready for scanning. SciGene microarray automation boosts laboratory productivity, enabling a single technician to process up to 48 patient DNA samples at a time. The system eliminates the need to hire and train more staff; lowering costs, reducing re-test rates and standardizing tests for more reliable results.

The SciGene Automated CMA Microarray System:

1. The ThermoPrep Workstation automates the intensive array workflow including DNA normalization, labeling and array loading onto Mai Tai Cassettes, thereby reducing operator errors and sample mix-ups.
   
2. The Mai Tai Hybridization System works with ThermoPrep to automate array hybridization set up and simplify slide handling.
   
3. The Little Dipper Processor and NoZone WS Workspace work together to automate post-hybridization washing and drying steps within an ozone-safe environment presenting slides ready for scanning.
   
4. SciGene Wash Buffers for Agilent CGH Arrays are ready-to-use for washing Agilent CGH and Chip-on-chip microarrays.

Use with Microarrays from Leading Suppliers

SciGene microarray processing equipment works with popular microarray formats and labeling chemistries from Agilent (enzymatic), Oxford Gene Technology, and BlueGnome. The CMA automation platform is compatible with microarray designs from International Collaboration for Clinical Genomics (ICCG) [formerly International Standards for Cytogenomic Arrays Consortium (ISCA)] and the Cancer Cytogenomics Microarray Consortium (CCMC).

*CMA: chromosomal microarray analysis / aCGH: array comparative genomic hybridization