CyBio FeliX speeds DNA extraction

Pulling DNA out of cells is a cleanup step before labs can run genetic tests, and Sartorius says its CyBio FeliX system can automate that job in 22 minutes. (labroots.com) DNA extraction separates genetic material from proteins, salts, and cell debris so downstream tests are not thrown off by contamination. A Sartorius technical note on plasmid preparation says a 260-to-280 nanometer absorbance ratio of about 1.8 is the target for DNA purity checks. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) (sartorius.com) The new CyBio FeliX workflow was promoted in a Labroots post published about two weeks ago, which said the platform delivered A260/280 ratios above 1.8 across samples. The same post said the extracted DNA was intended for quantitative polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing. (labroots.com) CyBio FeliX is a compact liquid-handling robot, the kind of instrument labs use to move small volumes of liquid through repetitive prep steps. Sartorius markets the platform as a flexible automation system for routine pipetting and higher-throughput sample processing. (labroots.com) (sartorius.com) The pitch is speed plus consistency at the front end of molecular testing, where manual extraction can bottleneck larger runs. Sartorius’ nucleic-acid application guide says polymerase chain reaction, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, next-generation sequencing, and genotyping all depend on contamination-free reagents and reproducible sample preparation. (sartorius.com) Sartorius has also built other rapid nucleic-acid workflows around its testing business. Its Microsart sterile-release product page says a real-time polymerase chain reaction system can detect bacteria and fungi in about 3 hours, while a related manual says the full procedure is about 3.5 hours including DNA extraction. (sartorius.com 1) (sartorius.com 2) The company has been positioning CyBio FeliX as a general-purpose automation platform rather than a single-use machine. Older application notes describe the same instrument handling automated next-generation sequencing library preparation and fully automated cytotoxicity assays. (analytik-jena.com.cn 1) (analytik-jena.com.cn 2) For labs deciding whether to adopt it, the key numbers are still the practical ones in the application note: 22 minutes from lysis to elution, purity readings above 1.8, and output aimed at quantitative polymerase chain reaction and sequencing workflows. (labroots.com)