WaferGen Biosystems, a developer of genetic analysis systems, has presented an overview of its SmartChip Real-Time PCR System and related data to demonstrate the system's ability to quantify gene expression levels by real-time PCR, for a large number of genes at one time utilising a simple workflow.

The company said that its scientists are currently presenting the validation results of the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System at the Cambridge Healthcare Institute’s 17th International Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference.

The SmartChip Real-Time PCR System consists of three components: a SmartChip comprising 5184 nanowells pre-programmed with gene-specific reaction content; a SmartChip Nanodispenser for applying sample and reaction mix to the SmartChips and; a SmartChip Cycler for performing and collecting data from the real-time PCR assays.

The SmartChip Human Oncology Gene Panel was used to quantify changes in gene expression levels in breast and lung tumors. Data from the study support the conclusion that WaferGen’s SmartChip system provides an easy solution to perform massively parallel gene expression studies using real-time PCR technology.

In addition, the availability of content-ready chips allows for an easy workflow for the researcher. Finally, the system allows analysis of thousands of genes using low (0.5mg) sample input.