Luminex, a provider of multiplexed solutions, has launched Magpix, an analytical instrument that is capable of performing up to 50 tests on a single sample and providing nearly 5,000 data points in under an hour. EMD Millipore (Billerica, MA) is the value-added reseller that will distribute the Magpix instrument worldwide.
Luminex said that the instrument was designed to meet the needs of laboratories, academic researchers and scientists, who to date have not been able to take advantage of the power of multiplexing because of resource and space limitations.
Based on Luminex’s xMAP Technology, the easy-to-use Magpix instrument is compact comparable in size to a desktop computer making it attractive to smaller and lower-volume laboratories and institutions with limited resources and bench space.
The instrument provides fast, accurate and easily reproducible results and can advance research across many disease states by bringing many types of multiplexing applications to scientists.
Magpix saves vital time in the laboratory, produces faster results and requires less sample input than existing legacy technologies, such as ELISA and Western blot. Like other Luminex instruments, Magpix is versatile and flexible and can be used to analyze both nucleic acids and proteins, making it applicable in many research settings.
Luminex said that the Magpix is easy to install out of the box and weighs less than 40lbs, approximately 18kg, making it simple and affordable to ship and deploy anywhere in the world.
The instrument uses MagPlex magnetic microspheres and runs Xponent software. Magpix was designed so that assays available on current Luminex instruments that use MagPlex magnetic microspheres will be compatible with Magpix, ensuring that scientists worldwide will have an extensive menu of assay applications available immediately.
Magpix is based on a new detection mechanism that uses low-cost, high performing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a CCD imaging system, with software.
Patrick Balthrop, president and chief executive officer of Luminex, said: “We are very excited about the market launch of Magpix. This new, highly innovative instrument is an important advancement in our goal to create multiplexing solutions for a range of applications and for laboratories of all sizes.
“Luminex is pleased to partner with EMD Millipore for the global distribution of Magpix with their extensive assay menu, worldwide commercial reach and more than 10 years of expertise on the xMAP Technology platform.
“By bringing a compact, cost-effective, easy-to-deploy multiplexing solution to scientists, Magpix will help make science and medicine faster and more effective, improving the health of people around the world.”