Variagenics integrates Hamilton robotic pipetting system into genotyping/ halotyping platform

Variagenics Inc. (Cambridge, MA) is integrating N/A (Reno, NV) Microlab MPH-96 robotic pipetting system into its NuCleave genotyping/haplotyping platform. Variagenics and its partner companies in the drug development, clinical research, and pharmaceutical fields will use the combined system to identify genetic variances in an effort to predict patient response to a specific drug.

According to Anne L. Bailey, vice president of diagnostic and process development at Variagenics, adding the Microlab robotic pipetting system completes the first version of the NuCleave high-accuracy genotyping/haplotyping platform. The company anticipates commercial introduction to the clinical marketplace later this year, she added.

Hamilton's Microlab MPH-96 is capable of pipetting 96 samples at a time, allowing for the full automation of the NuCleave genotyping assay from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to sample application on mass spectrometry plates. The robotic pipetting system provides excellent versatility and handles a variety of pipetting volumes as low as 200 nanoliters with a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility.

Hamilton's Microlab MPH-96

Variagenics' NuCleave genotyping/haplotyping platform integrates genotyping and haplotyping assays, proprietary purification procedures, robotics, bioinformatics, and mass spectrometry. This platform automates the detection and analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the most common type of genetic variation.

Variagenics Inc. develops technologies for the discovery and commercialization of drugs and diagnostics based on the understanding of genetic differences among individuals. The company identifies clinically important genetic variations and uses this information to improve and enhance drugs in development and to develop new drug targets.

Hamilton Company is an international company specializing in the design and manufacture of instrumentation and automated systems for precision liquid handling applications in R&D, analytical chemistry, and clinical laboratories.

For more information, contact Beverly Holley of Variagenics at 617-588-5318 or bholley@variagenics.com.

Edited by Jim Pomager
Assistant Editor, Bioresearch Online

Visit the Hamilton Company storefront on Bioresearch Online.