Application Note
The SmartChip™ Real-Time PCR System: throughput meets flexibility
T
he SmartChip Real-Time PCR System enables high-throughput real-time PCR (qPCR) for gene
expression or single nucleotide polymor- phism (SNP) genotyping analysis. The SmartChip system is comprised of the SmartChip MultiSample NanoDispenser (MSND), a high-precision, nanolitre-vol- ume liquid handler, and the SmartChip Real-Time PCR Cycler, which supports probe- or dye-based assays and has filters for FAM, VIC, ROX and green intercalat- ing dyes. Used in conjunction with the SmartChip MyDesign Kit, the system increases throughput levels while saving your reagents and precious samples with- out compromising data quality. The power of the SmartChip system is
derived from the use of 5,184-nanowell chips. The chips are highly flexible and can be configured in 14 different assay and sample arrangements – from 12 samples across 384 assays all the way to 384 sam-
ples across 12 assays. This allows you to run the experiments you want instead of tailoring your experiments to fit rigid sam- ple and assay formats. Each chip utilises 100nl reactions that offer significant reagent and cost savings over 25µl reac- tions required for 384-well plates. The 100nl reactions, requiring only 3-10ng/µl of input, are sensitive enough to eliminate the need for preamplification. Further reducing the reaction volume to 10nl (as in an IFC format) provides only modest cost savings and requires >60ng/µl of input, which necessitates preamplification. The flexibility of the
SmartChip system is not limited to enabling different assay and sample combinations. It also enables rapid advancement between discovery and screening applications. For exam- ple, consider a situation in which you are a can- cer researcher search- ing for a metastasis biomarker. You might start out with 248 ini- tial targets, which will allow you to test these targets on up to 20 samples (or five sam- ples in quadruplicate). You might then read some new publications identifying more tar- gets and immediately want
to switch to Drug Discovery World Spring 2018
screening 296 targets. Using the SmartChip system and blank chips, you can easily change configurations and screen 296 tar- gets in up to 16 samples (or four samples in quadruplicate). Eventually, you might iden- tify a set of 24 key biomarkers that you would like to test on thousands of samples. Each blank chip can now be used to screen these 24 targets in 216 samples (or 54 sam- ples in quadruplicate). This means that as few as 20 blank chips can satisfy the entire- ty of your screen. Since all your initial test- ing was done using the same system and same blank chips, there is no need to reval- idate your finalised panel – the same data you generated while doing discovery appli- cations will be generated in your screening application. The best part is that you can always go back to testing new targets and modify your screen down the line. The SmartChip system has been utilised
in a wide range of applications. Researchers have used the system to study antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria from water, soil, food and manure. The ability of the system to accommodate the diversity in antibiotic resistance genes across multiple sample types was critical in enabling this research. Additionally, the system was crit- ical in identifying a wide range of miRNA, long non-coding RNAs and other clinical biomarkers in cancer and other diseases. The ability to rapidly screen many targets across samples was pivotal in identifying key, novel markers. The system’s through- put has also been utilised for detection of fungus and other pathogens in crop and patient samples, lowering costs dramatical- ly. Finally, the system has been used in a variety of genotyping applications, includ- ing human red blood cell genotyping, phar- macogenomics studies and mouse colony maintenance and tracking – all situations where throughput and flexibility are key.
Learn more at
https://go.takarabio.com/ SmartChip_Brochure.html
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