Q Chip Ltd, a developer of microencapsulation solutions, has launched ReaX? Lab-in-a-Bead - an innovative gel-based bead for effortless PCR. The new ReaX Mastermix Lab-in-a-Bead range encapsulates all the reagents required to perform PCR in a single dose within the bead. This allows even untrained operators to set up PCR reactions in any thermal cycler system, whilst giving highly reproducible results. PCR reactions can now be easily taken out of the laboratory, opening up field based applications ranging from bacterial detection to DNA-based security tagging effectively ushering in the era of ?Lab-in-a-Bead' technology.
Available in a variety of ready-to-use formats, ReaX Mastermix beads completely standardise and streamline set-up, and the subsequent PCR reactions are very robust and highly reproducible. They can be used for end-point, qPCR and RT-PCR and with multiple fluorescent chemistries (e.g. SYBR Green, TaqMan). ReaX Mastermix beads can be stored and shipped at either 4°C or ambient temperature due to their highly stable nature. In addition, ReaX Mastermix beads can reduce the overall test costs due lower repeat rates and less reagent wastage.