BioTrove, Inc. today announced that researchers at the Children’s National Medical Center will use the BioTrove OpenArray™ SNP genotyping system to examine genes for diabetes-related traits, as well as to investigate genetic variants affecting skeletal muscle hypertrophy – the build-up of skeletal muscle tissue – with resistance training in multiple large populations.
“Research takes time and persistence to ensure accurate data, and when it comes to our young patients, we are seeking to speed up the clock while understanding how we can help. Children’s National is committed to finding innovative ways to address diseases affecting these young patients – including research into genetic indicators for certain conditions,” said Joseph Devany, Ph.D., assistant professor and head of the Genotyping Lab in the Research Center for Genetic Medicine at Children’s National Medical Center.
“Comparing thousands of samples across large populations would take several years with conventional methods. The high-throughput OpenArray system enables us to process samples in weeks instead of years, and its high accuracy helps conduct in-depth research without depleting our precious DNA samples,” said Eric Hoffman, Ph.D., Clark Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Research Center for Genetic Medicine at Children’s National.
Drs. Devany and Hoffman and their colleagues will use OpenArray technology in multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded studies, including a collaboration with Howard University exploring pre-symptomatic risk factors for type 2 diabetes in African-American young adults, genetic predispositions to early onset type 2 diabetes in children, and genetic determinants of muscle strength and size. Because the OpenArray system allows a wide range of samples and assays to be screened simultaneously on a single plate, researchers can examine thousands of data points to discover the genes that might play a role in these disease states.
“We’re gratified to partner with Drs. Devaney and Hoffman as they conduct ground-breaking research into the genetics of diabetes and muscle growth,” said Al Luderer, Ph.D., president and CEO, BioTrove. “Our ability to enable high-accuracy, high-throughput research in molecular diagnostics allows us to contribute to the development of personalized medicine, and help these children and young adults.”
About BioTrove, Inc.
BioTrove, Inc. offers two innovative technology platforms: RapidFire™, which enables the acceleration of drug discovery and pipeline decisions, and OpenArray™, which advances genomic research in a wide range of life science fields, including agriculture, disease research, bio-defense, and public health. With more than half of the world’s ten largest pharmaceutical companies as clients, and partnerships with prestigious research and public health centers around the world, BioTrove’s products and services ensure that an industry committed to accuracy and speed can meet business goals.
RapidFire™ Mass Spectrometry (RFMS) uses an innovative microfluidic technology to facilitate analysis at faster than 10 seconds per sample, eliminating the bottleneck created by traditional mass spectrometry throughput. RFMS is routinely used in many applications including the high-throughput screening of previously intractable drug targets, cytochrome P450 inhibition and other ADME assays and directed evolution studies.
The OpenArray™ Platform enables genomics researchers to generate SNP and real time qPCR data in the hundreds of thousands of data points per day, significantly increasing the number of samples analyzed while significantly decreasing the time and cost required. The flexible format and nanoliter scale of the OpenArray™ system allows for easy adjustment of sample and assay numbers, achieving economical, high-throughput genomics.
For more information, please visit www.biotrove.com