Molecular Devices Partners with Roche

The custom technologies arm of Molecular Devices has partnered with the Discovery Technologies team at the Roche Innovation Center Basel of Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) to develop a high-throughput detection system for drug discovery screens employing Roche’s proprietary Ruthenium-based nanosecond time resolved fluorescence (Nano-TRF®) assays. The pRED screening teams in Basel and Shanghai are now installing the custom-developed Nano-TRF® cartridge in their existing Molecular Devices SpectraMax® Paradigm® multimode microplate readers and will receive on-demand delivery of new cartridges and continuing global technical support.

Nano-TRF® is a robust, Ruthenium-based time-resolved assay used in high-throughput screening for drug discovery. Ruthenium-based dyes combine the advantages of the Lanthanide (e.g. Eu, Tb) based time-resolved detection and nanosecond fluorophores: the high quantum efficiency Ruthenium-dyes have bright far-red signals with low background due to time resolved detection, do not require strong UV excitation but rather can be excited with visible light, are chemically robust, and have proven and stable detection in many biological matrices. However, the instrumentation for proper and scalable implementation of Ruthenium Nano-TRF® had not previously been developed.

“We make the instruments that only existed as ideal specs in a team meeting or a protocol draft,” says Shawn M M Laymon, VP of Molecular Devices Global Services & Custom Solutions. “We look forward to a continued relationship with Roche and to building new relationships with customers looking for a partner to help them create custom detection and analysis systems that meet their specific workflow needs.”