Covaris Presents New Educational Webinar Highlighting Their Novel Method for DNA and RNA Extraction from FFPE Tissues

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Yorba Linda, CA (PRWEB) April 15, 2014

Covaris has developed a webinar to help researchers and clinicians stay updated on the most recent developments in Formalin Fixation and Paraffin Embedding (FFPE) sample handling and analysis. The webinar, titled “NGS-quality RNA and DNA from FFPE Tissues,” will take place April 17, 2014 at 11:00am PT. This event will bring together researchers, clinicians, and laboratory professionals from around the world to learn about advances in nucleic acid extraction for molecular analysis.

Formalin Fixation and Paraffin Embedding (FFPE) of tissue samples is a routine practice by pathologists as the technique enables high quality preservation of structural information. However, this method was developed to facilitate histological analysis rather than for the new molecular analysis approaches, which are emerging in clinical oncology settings (such as exome or whole genome sequencing).

Efficient, high yield, and high quality extraction of DNA from FFPE tissues for molecular analysis applications is possible by the novel use of Covaris’ patented Adaptive Focused Acoustics™ (AFA) technology. The focused, short wavelength, acoustic field generated by Covaris AFA allows for active paraffin removal without the use of organic solvents. It also enables complete tissue rehydration, the effective digestion of proteins, and the efficient release of DNA or RNA.

Covaris will present whole genome sequencing results from truXTRAC™ FFPE extracted DNA, and RNA-Seq results from truXTRAC FFPE extracted RNA. In a comparative study, truXTRAC showed both greater yield and greater coverage depth across the genome than other commercial extraction methods. More importantly, coverage uniformity with the truXTRAC kit was very similar to that of DNA extracted from matched fresh frozen tissues in gene rich regions of the genome.

One of the industry’s prominent experts will present on April 17th:

•     Hamid Khoja, PhD, Principal Scientist, Covaris, Inc.: Dr. Khoja brings years of experience in assay, protocol, and kit development in the field of molecular biology. Dr. Khoja has helped advance FFPE DNA and RNA extraction by utilizing Covaris’ patented Adaptive Focused Acoustics Technology to develop a robust protocol and the truXTRAC™ purification kits. Previously, Dr. Khoja developed several kits and high throughput assays for internal research initiatives, including branched DNA assays for oncogene quantification, Mass spectrometer based assays for CFTR and other disease mutation analysis, kits for ChIP-ChIP assays and the truChIP™ Chromatin Shearing reagent kits optimizing chromatin shearing for ChIP applications.

Webinar participants will be able to attend the interactive live streaming video session and have their questions answered in real-time by this industry expert. This webinar offers a unique opportunity as it is free to participants, and they will benefit from interacting with a global community of like-minded colleagues, without leaving the comfort of their office or home.

A full agenda and speaker bio can be found here.

About Covaris:
Covaris utilizes proprietary technologies including Adaptive Focused Acoustic (AFA) to enable advanced sample preparation and optimization of analytical results. The patented AFA process focuses controlled, precise and accurate mechanical energy to biological and chemical samples. The process is non-contact, isothermal, and rapid. Leading diagnostic centers, universities and pharmaceutical companies worldwide are using Covaris systems for sample preparation for molecular testing.

About BioConference Live:
Founded in 2009, BioConference Live’s vision was to connect the scientific world leveraging a unique virtual platform, discovering meaningful collaborations across geographic boundaries and fields of expertise. BioConference Live has grown into the world's largest producer of virtual events within the Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics community. LabRoots is the owner and producer of BioConference Live, and is the leading scientific networking website designed to connect all science verticals. For more information, visit http://www.labroots.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+.

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