at HGM 2006: The Human Genome Meeting 31 May - 03 June, Helsinki, Finland

London, UK, 31 May 2006….deltaDOT Ltd, a developer of highly innovative enabling technologies and products for bioscience research, launched its Merlin capillary-based DNA sequencer today at the Human Genome Meeting in Helsinki, Finland. Merlin incorporates advanced imaging technology developed by the Company to enable label-free rapid throughput sequencing at low cost. 

Conventional DNA sequencing systems rely on the use of labels attached to the molecules in order to detect the presence of nucleic acids making up the DNA sequence. However, by incorporating deltaDOT’s Label Free Intrinsic Imaging™ technology (LFII™), Merlin is able to monitor unlabelled biomolecules directly, in real time.  

LFII™ works by using many hundreds of UV detectors to image the biomolecules as they traverse the capillary electrophoresis (CE) system. Merlin, which is a short-read (c. 200-300 base pairs) CE DNA sequencer, applies LFII™ to the separation stage of nucleic acid sequencing, eliminating the need to label the molecules, saving both time and costs. The advanced system incorporates signal processing and data mining tools to separate and identify unlabelled biomolecules, providing unprecedented resolution, sensitivity and reproducibility of analysis. 

Merlin was developed by deltaDOT for short turnaround, inexpensive applications, where the top-of-the-line DNA sequencers are not as cost-effective or efficient to use. However, the system also has potential for application in forensic science laboratories. 

“Having achieved the resolution necessary to resolve DNA sequence information, we have been working with an internationally renowned forensic science provider to apply Merlin to the analysis of Short Tandem Repeats (STRs). STRs have become popular DNA markers because the number of repeats can be highly variable among individuals, making STRs highly effective for human identification purposes. 

On-site forensic analysis is currently hampered by instrument size and consumable needs. However, the use of Merlin will, for the first time, allow the development of portable field based forensic systems, indicating that our LFII^TM technology will play an important role in field based forensic analysis in the next decade.” Explained Dr Stuart Hassard, Co-founder and Head Biologist of deltaDOT. 

Dr Anthony Baxter, CEO of deltaDOT, commented: “Merlin has been developed to deliver accurate results rapidly at a tiny fraction of the running costs of standard sequencers. The use of LFII^TM for DNA sequencing provides a crucial advantage as it avoids the need for highly expensive labelling reagents, thereby saving users up to thousands of dollars a day.” 

Merlin is the second product to be developed by deltaDOT using the company’s LFII^TM technology. Peregrine, which is a bench-top system, was developed by deltaDOT for the label-free analysis of DNA, proteins, bacteria, virus and small molecules. 

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:

About deltaDOT Ltd

http://www.deltadot.com 

deltaDOT is a biotechnology company that is developing and commercialising highly innovative enabling technologies and products in the bioscience arena.

The company was founded in 2000 and is a spin out from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, UK. It is focused on the harnessing of cutting-edge particle physics technology and its application to the needs of biomolecular separation, including proteins, DNA and RNA analysis. The company has a strong proprietary position and extensive expertise in instrumentation, microfluidics, automation, computing and analysis which will contribute to improvements in knowledge, profitability and process time throughout drug discovery and general life sciences research.

About Label Free Intrinsic Imaging^TM (LFII^TM)

deltaDOT’s core technology, Label Free Intrinsic Imaging (LFII^TM), coupled with proprietary powerful analyses, forms the basis of its product offering. LFII^TM allows the direct monitoring of unlabelled biomolecules in real time, resulting in much faster, more accurate results at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches. deltaDOT’s first product was a High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis instrument; other products being developed are a high throughput protein folding device and systems capable of rapid, unbiased analysis of genomic, proteomic and chemical content of unknown substances and threats

About Merlin

The Merlin Capillary-based DNA Sequencer is a powerful new tool for sequencing short lengths of DNA (c. 200-300 base pairs). By applying LFII^TM to the separation stage of nucleic acid sequencing, deltaDOT sequencers deliver results rapidly at a tiny fraction of the running costs of standard sequencers, eliminating entirely the use of highly expensive labelling reagents and thereby saving users up to thousands of dollars a day. Merlin is capable of SNP sequencing, genotyping, DNA fragment and RNA analysis in same system.

Photo: Merlin

 

For more information please contact: 

At deltaDOT:

Frank Smith, Chief Commercial Officer
deltaDOT Ltd
13 Princes Gardens, South Kensington
London, UK, SW7 2NA
http://www.deltadot.com

Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 1005
Fax: +44 (0)20 7594 1006
Email: f.smith@deltadot.com  

Media relations:

At Northbank Communications

Lorna Watson, Senior Account Manager, l.watson@northbankcommunications.com  

Annabel Entress, Account Manager, a.entress@northbankcommunications.com

Northbank Communications Ltd
The Media Village, 131-151 Great Titchfield Street,
London, W1W 5BB, UK 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 8150
Fax: +44 (0)20 7886 8151