High Throughput Genotyping Platform Guaranteed 24 Hour Turnaround Time at Reduced Costs

Taconic has announced a new high throughput platform for genotyping laboratory mice and rats designed to reduce costs and turnaround time. Scientists simply login to the Taconic website and request a sample collection kit by clicking on the "Quick Order" button. The easy to use web site provides frequently asked questions (FAQs) on every screen to assist functionality. Sample submission and results reporting are accomplished efficiently via a secure online system that provides guaranteed delivery of results in 24 hours. The new genotyping service employs an advanced, real-time PCR platform from ABI System, and is almost entirely automated from extraction to real-time PCR.

Limited to lab animals like mice and rats, viable specimens include tail tissue, ear punches, embryos and toe nail clippings. The sample collection kit that Taconic provides contains a 96 well plate with cover, shipping label, a card to record details for customer use and a return shipping box. Upon receipt, tissue samples are lysed within the 96 well sample submission plate in order to avoid contamination, and the DNA is extracted and normalized. Normalized DNA is fed into real time PCR machine using Tecan's state-of-the-art liquid handling robots, and tested in duplicate. A house keeping gene is tested along with each sample as a control. Results are also checked twice before they reported to ensure accuracy.