QIAGEN Enhances QIAcuity with Advanced Multiplexing Function
QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) has announced a major enhancement to its QIAcuity digital PCR (dPCR) system, significantly boosting its performance. The upgrade more than doubles the number of targets that can be analyzed simultaneously from a single biological sample, providing researchers with deeper insights and increased efficiency in their analyses.
QIAGEN has introduced an exciting upgrade to its QIAcuity digital PCR (dPCR) system, offering enhanced multiplexing capabilities that allow researchers to analyze up to twelve targets simultaneously from a single biological sample. This breakthrough feature significantly improves the system’s performance for various applications, including translational research, microbiome analysis, pathogen detection, and cell and gene therapy development.
The new functionality is made possible by a software upgrade and the launch of the QIAcuity High Multiplex Probe PCR Kit. With this update, users can now analyze more than five targets, which was the previous maximum, without needing to replace their existing hardware. This allows customers to fully leverage their current QIAcuity devices while benefiting from the enhanced multiplexing power of the new kit.
The QIAcuity system was already known for its ability to detect multiple targets in a single reaction, but with the addition of higher-order multiplexing, it now enables users to maximize sample utilization and reduce time and reagent consumption. This makes it easier for researchers to accelerate their work while achieving deeper biological insights, particularly in complex and time-sensitive studies.
“Simultaneous analysis of multiple targets from a single biological sample is an important step in making QIAcuity the first choice for cutting-edge dPCR applications,” said Nitin Sood, Senior Vice President and Head of the Life Sciences Business Unit at QIAGEN. “We are always looking for ways to further enhance QIAcuity’s capabilities to help researchers gain an even more detailed biological understanding of any sample type in a cost-effective way, without tedious optimization or concerns about inaccurate quantification.”
QIAcuity’s digital PCR platform is in high demand, with more than 2,700 devices expected to be placed by the end of 2024. The system has already been cited in over 550 publications, reflecting its growing influence in the scientific community. The platform is widely used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research labs, and forensic laboratories, with a variety of applications ranging from gene expression analysis to DNA mutation detection. In 2024, QIAGEN also expanded its digital PCR portfolio by launching the QIAcuityDx system, designed for clinical applications, further bolstering the QIAcuity family.
The QIAcuity High Multiplex Probe PCR Kit is a ready-to-use master mix specifically optimized for microfluidic use in QIAcuity Nanoplates. It is designed to allow convenient high-order multiplexing on existing QIAcuity instruments. The kit enhances the specificity and efficiency of probe-based digital PCR, enabling accurate analysis in both single-plex and up to 12-plex reactions.
One of the key features introduced with the QIAcuity software upgrade (version 3.1) is crosstalk compensation. This feature corrects signal overlap between targets, a critical step in enabling accurate multiplex analysis. By addressing the issue of crosstalk, researchers can now analyze multiple targets simultaneously from an undivided sample, ensuring both efficiency and accuracy.
QIAGEN has also updated its catalog of catalog and custom dPCR assays for copy number variation (CNV) analysis and microbial detection to support up to 12-plex reactions. These assays are available through QIAGEN’s GeneGlobe platform, providing customers with a comprehensive set of tools to facilitate their research.
The combination of advanced software, optimized chemistry, and innovative design positions QIAcuity as an excellent solution for higher-order multiplexing. By expanding its target capacity and improving data reliability, QIAcuity offers researchers an efficient workflow with the highest throughput capabilities in digital PCR. The platform’s user-friendly design and ease of automation further enhance its appeal to laboratories of all sizes.
QIAGEN’s QIAcuity platform uses unique nanoplates to partition samples into thousands of tiny partitions. Each partition undergoes simultaneous reaction, allowing even the faintest signals from DNA and RNA to be detected. This enables precise quantification of biological samples, making QIAcuity especially useful for applications in clinical research, diagnostics, and biomarker discovery. The system integrates partitioning, thermocycling, and imaging in a single workflow, significantly reducing processing time from six hours to just two.
Available in one-, four-, and eight-plate versions, the QIAcuity system meets the needs of laboratories with varying throughput requirements. The platform’s versatility ensures it can support a broad range of applications, from basic research to high-throughput clinical testing.
About QIAGEN
QIAGEN NV is the world’s leading provider of complete solutions for obtaining molecular insights from biological samples. The company’s technologies enable the purification and processing of DNA, RNA, and proteins from a wide variety of biological materials. QIAGEN’s molecular testing solutions allow for detailed analysis and interpretation, providing valuable insights across many industries, including healthcare, life sciences research, and forensics. With over 5,800 employees worldwide and a presence in more than 35 locations, QIAGEN continues to drive advancements in molecular diagnostics and life sciences, serving over 500,000 customers globally.
