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Creative Biolabs concentrates on promoting the understanding of drug development breakthroughs in many types of disease treatments. We will combine gene deletion analysis tools with microfluidic chip development technologies around the world to boost novel drug discovery in unprecedented ways. In our company, our scientists specialized in microfluidic chip studies will work with you to develop the most appropriate strategy that will offer reproducible data for your research.

Introduction to Gene Deletions

Gene deletions, also known as gene deficiency or gene mutations, is an aberration that often occurs in the DNA replication process of a chromosome or a nucleic acid molecule. In principle, any nucleotides can be deleted, ranging from a base pair to a whole chromosome fragment. Gene deletions can be classified into three key types, loss-of-function deletions, silent deletions, as well as gain-of-function deletions. Gene deletion can be found by DNA sequencing and the effect of a deletion varies with the size and the deletion site. Normally, gene deletions are one of the most common causes for various diseases, such as Turner syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, and Williams-Beuren syndrome. However, there was no correlation between the amount of deletion and the severity of the consequences.

Fig.1 Overview of the droplet-based microfluidics gene deletion analysis system. (Pekin, 2011)

The Detection Methods for Gene Deletions

Currently, screening for gene deletions has aroused much attention due to its important role in disease diagnosis and drug development. A wide variety of cytogenetics and molecular technologies, including conventional karyotyping, Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), have been generated and used for detecting all or part of genes. Moreover, a new droplet-based microfluidics technology has recently been described that allows quantitative and sensitive detection of rare mitochondrial DNA mutations. This semi-quantitative technology is designed by using a microfluidic assay to conduct multiplex PCR in numerous droplets. The results have demonstrated that this system can identify mutated allele-specific imbalance (MASI) and accurately quantify mutated KRAS genes in different human metastatic colorectal cancer cell lines.

Our Microfluidic Solutions for Gene Deletions

Nowadays, microfluidic chip plays a significant role in automatic extraction and analysis of gene deletion in various species, such as bacteria. a wide variety of technologies have been established for supporting the understanding of gene deletions in humans, yet remaining limitations in current technologies and the deletion size have inhibited the progress of the detection of rare gene mutations in patients.

To solve this problem, Creative Biolabs has established a comprehensive microfluidic chip-based gene deletion screening platform for detecting rare and common deletion mutations in multiple samples. Our platform consists of genomic DNA (gDNA) extraction, PCR system design, as well as microfluidic chip-mediated optical detection. In this system, the silica beads and sample are incubated in a collection chamber. The released gDNAs are then collected on the surface of the beads and further purified by using the microfluidic array on the chip. Finally, the gene deletions will be amplified specifically through the on-chip PCR system and analyzed by the optical detection system. Experimental results have illustrated that the detection limit of this technology is low as 15.00 pg/microL with a high sensitivity above 95%.

By continuing to grow in response to the requirements of our clients, Creative Biolabs is dedicated to exploring novel and innovative microfluidic solutions technologies for analyzing gene deletions and offering the most comprehensive, integrated portfolio of microfluidic chip products. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for closer communication to learn how we can be involved in your project. Separate services or integrated end-to-end solutions are all welcomed.

Reference

1. Pekin, D., et al. Quantitative and sensitive detection of rare mutations using droplet-based microfluidics. Lab on a Chip. 2011, 11(13): 2156-2166.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.