MagBio Genomics Inc. Develops Automated RNA Purification Chemistry for Mawi iSWAB-RNA v2 on Thermofisher KingFisher™ Flex

HAYWARD, Calif., United States: 

Mawi DNA Technologies, a biotechnology company focusing on the development of innovative technologies for biosampling, announces that MagBio Genomics has successfully developed an automated RNA purification method for iSWAB-RNA v2 on the Thermofisher KingFisher™ Flex platform with its HighPrep™ Total RNA Isolation Kit – iSWAB™.

Mawi DNA Technologies’ iSWAB-RNA v2 allows for non-invasive self collection, concentration, and stabilization of intact buccal cells and/or any mammalian cells collected with a swab or cytobrush. It enables up to four weeks of real-time ambient stabilization of total RNA from the point of collection to processing. The high-quality RNA extracted from stabilized iSWAB-RNA v2 samples is suitable for gene expression applications such as real-time quantitative PCR, reverse transcription PCR, microarrays, northern blot analysis, nuclease protection assays, cDNA library construction and RNA-seq.

“Collaborating with MagBio Genomics to optimize their HighPrep™ Total RNA Plus Kit-iSWAB™ for iSWAB-RNA v2 was a no-brainer for us, especially because it provides a great option for our high throughput end users like pharma and CROs,” said Dr. Bassam El-Fahmawi, President and CTO, Mawi DNA Technologies. “Partnerships with leaders in nucleic acid purification chemistries with a global presence, such as MagBio Genomics, are increasing worldwide access of our sample collection technologies, which results in better understanding of health and wellness at a global rather than at a regional level.” El-Fahmawi said that due to increased sample sizes in cohort genetic population studies, there is an increasing need for automated RNA purification solutions. The MagBio HighPrep Total RNA Plus Kit-iSWAB™ simplifies this research step, which can be labor-intensive.

“MagBio has successfully developed and optimized the HighPrep™ Total RNA Isolation Kit-iSWAB™ for extraction of total RNA from iSWAB-RNA v2 samples on Thermofisher KingFisher™ Flex Purification System,” said Dr. Mothomang Mlalazi-Oyinloye, Associate Scientific Director, MagBio Genomics. “This new method is being used by a major pharmaceutical company to process iSWAB-RNA v2 samples for elucidation of molecular mechanisms of cancer development. With this automated protocol, 96 samples can be run in less than one hour.” She added that the extracted RNA is of high purity and quality and is compatible with complex and sensitive assays. RNA yields up to 1ug per sample are obtained (Qubit RNA Broad Assay).

“We are expanding our automated methods library to include the most commonly used lab automation systems,” Dr. Mlalazi-Oyinloye said. “iSWAB-RNA v2 is the non-invasive sample collection alternative to venipuncture and tissue biopsy our fellow researchers have been looking for which maintains RNA integrity especially during long transit times. MagBio Genomics is all about making the next generation sequencing workflow better. We developed an automated method for simplifying RNA purification from iSWAB-RNA v2 samples using our HighPrep™ Total RNA Plus Kit-iSWAB™,” said Dr. Hyacinth Ntchobo, CEO, MagBio Genomics. He added that when used in combination, Mawi’s iSWAB-RNA v2 collection technology and MagBio Genomics’ purification chemistry provide an efficient workflow for high throughput purification of high-quality RNA for demanding downstream applications.

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