Why qNPA™ ?
Quantitative Nuclease Protection Assay (qNPA™)
qNPA Technology offers several important advantages over other gene expression analysis techniques:
No RNA extraction: HTG has successfully run samples from cultured cell lines, primary cells, tissue pieces, FFPE, plants, and bacteria without RNA extraction (For a complete list, click here). Not only does this remove a time-consuming and costly bottleneck in high throughput analysis, but it also reduces a potential source of technical sample variation.
No cDNA synthesis: Traditional methods of gene expression analysis require a reverse transcription of the targeted RNA. qNPA-based analysis does not involve this step, thereby removing another source of potential sample variation.
No RNA amplification or labeling: Coupled with cDNA synthesis, many analysis platforms require a time-consuming RNA amplification and biotin labeling step, adding even more cost and potential sample variation. qNPA uses standard DNA oligonucleotides and S1 nuclease, greatly simplifying the experimental process.
True 16 gene multiplexing: The qNPA ArrayPlate platform will simultaneously measure up to 16 genes in the same sample well. Other multiplexing platforms, such as qPCR, only reliably multiplex 4-6 genes per well, and require extensive development and verification.
Consistent and reproducible data: Well-to-well CV’s are typically ~10%, far superior to qPCR or microarray data. Data is reliable and consistent, allowing different wells and plates to be compared with confidence and without complex normalization schemes.
Differential expression resolution:qNPA can regularly and accurately detect gene expression changes of as little as 20% (or 1.2 fold) in a plate that has a CV of 10%. qPCR provides reliable resolution of only 50% (or 1.5 fold), which can miss biologically significant changes.
Look for us at the 2008 Merck Technology Symposium, May 13th to 16th in Long Branch, NJ. Find out how the qNPA ArrayPlate will enable your research. Visit us at booth 45.
