Product Photo: Microchip Electrophoresis System 'MultiNAⅡ MCE-301'

Shimadzu Corporation will launch the Microchip Electrophoresis System 'MultiNAⅡ MCE-301' in Japan on November 19. By automating the entire process of electrophoresis that takes more than 2 hours manually (gel preparation, reagent dispensing, electrophoresis, separation, staining, and instrument cleaning), it streamlines genetic analysis operations. This product is the successor to 'MCE-202 MultiNA' (released in 2007), achieving the calculation of indicators showing the degradation status of RNA and high-sensitivity detection using dedicated reagent kits. While continuing the strength of 'high-sensitivity, high-precision multi-sample fully automatic analysis,' it is equipped with functions for adding samples during analysis and diluting samples. The company will sell this product to universities, research institutions involved in medicine, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, natural sciences, engineering, contract inspection companies, food manufacturers, etc.

A microchip electrophoresis system is a system that performs electrophoresis* by using a quartz substrate (microchip) with micro channels and electrode patterns formed to separate DNA/RNA by size (chain length). It is used for mutation confirmation in genome editing, quality checks of samples for next-generation sequencers (NGS), and genotyping (gene type determination), among other applications. Particularly, NGS is essential for gene analysis, which continues to grow at double-digit rates in the global market. Genome editing is also used in the research and development of pharmaceuticals and functional foods, and the market size of these related technologies has grown by nearly 20% annually.

Shimadzu Corporation plans to exhibit this product at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan (November 27-29, 2024, Fukuoka International Congress Center). Additionally, they are planning for overseas release starting next year to boost the dissemination and innovation of genome editing technology, contributing to the advancement of research in the company's key areas of health care and the GX field.

• *An analytical method mainly used for the separation of nucleic acids and proteins. By applying voltage to nucleic acids or proteins, the differences in molecular weight and charge lead to different migration speeds, allowing the separation of the analytes based on size.