Promega LEV blood DNA kit increases DNA extraction rate in less time

10 May 2010

Promega UK is offering the Maxwell 16 LEV Blood DNA Kit which is designed to purify DNA from whole blood.

The new kit, which is optimised to work on the Maxwell 16 IVD system, for nucleic acid extraction, eliminates the need for a buffy coat step while providing exponentially higher concentration in less time with parallel purity.

While manual buffy coat methods typically collect 20% of available DNA, the new Maxwell Blood automation system collects up to 80%. The performance is due to new particle technology that is optimised to pull the maximum DNA from every sample with comparable performance on purity.

“We were pleasantly surprised to find that much DNA in 300ul of blood,” said Marie Ericsson, Molecular Technician at Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory in San Antonio, Texas, “We believe this kit will help labs that are conducting complex assays and having trouble achieving desired DNA yields.”

The Maxwell 16 LEV Blood DNA Kit supports laboratories performing tests in genotyping and screening. The automation allows technicians to press a button and walk away to continue other tasks during purification.

The straightforward process makes purification work much more accessible to the less experienced technicians. Automation also avoids potential problems associated with contamination and inconsistency encountered using manual purification methods.

“HLA testing is becoming more complex and, as a result, the quantity and purity of DNA needed for these tests also evolves,” said Michael Gautreaux, PhD, D.ABHI HLA Laboratory Director at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. “The Promega LEV Blood Kit helps meet this need.”