ZyGEM and New Zealand’s ESR Continue Collaboration to Expand forensicGEM™ Family of DNA Extraction Kits
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ZyGEM Corp Ltd., a provider of advanced enzymatic tools for life sciences applications, and New Zealand’s Institute of Environmental Scientific and Research (ESR), announced that they are continuing their ongoing collaboration that has already produced a range of innovative DNA extraction kits for forensic applications.
The collaboration is leveraging the capabilities of these two New Zealand innovators to accelerate the development of additional forensicGEM™ kits for flexible and low-cost DNA extraction.
The forensicGEM™ family of kits uses a proprietary enzyme to extract DNA from samples using a single closed-tube system. The forensicGEM™ approach simplifies laboratory workflow, minimizes error, reduces the risk of contamination and ensures sample integrity while also reducing costs. The kits are easy to automate for high-throughput applications using off-the-shelf robotic systems.
According to ZyGEM the kits have been specifically formulated for DNA extraction from a range of different crime sample types without the need for further purification. forensicGEM™ kits provide PCR-ready, forensic grade DNA for 96 samples in just 20 minutes with no hands-on attention required. With forensicGEM™, researchers can prepare samples up to three times faster than with existing products and at a lower cost.
forensicGEM™ kit formats based on ZyGEM’s thermophilic enzymes have been optimized and validated by the researchers at ESR who have provided benchmark quality control standards for forensicGEM™ reagents. All reagents are rigorously quality controlled to test for efficacy and for the absence of human DNA.
“This mutually beneficial collaboration between ZyGEM and ESR is producing a growing range of validated forensicGEM™ kits that represent a completely novel approach to DNA extraction” said Paul Kinnon, CEO of ZyGEM. “We look forward to continuing this very productive relationship, whose success also provides a model we intend to follow as we establish additional collaborations and partnerships for our enzyme-based life sciences business.”
Currently available kits include forensicGEM™ Blood, forensicGEM™ Saliva, forensicGEM™ Tissue, forensicGEM™ Storage Card Saliva, forensicGEM™ Storage Card Blood and forensicGEM™ Cigarette. Additional formats are in development.
