NanoString Technologies increases throughput of nCounter Analysis System

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held life sciences company marketing a novel digital molecular barcoding technology for detecting and counting large sets of targets in biological samples, today announced that it has increased the throughput of its nCounter^® Analysis System by expanding its multiplexing capacity to 800 gene transcripts per reaction. This additional capability allows for the high-resolution analysis of 250 additional targets from the same amount of sample, thereby increasing the efficiency of experiments and enabling researchers to perform studies not feasible using other technologies.

“With the new multiplexing capacity, it's as though you are performing 800 qPCR reactions in a single tube with only four pipetting steps.”

With a growing interest in evaluating complex cellular interactions across large numbers of biological samples, scientists are seeking solutions capable of efficiently analyzing defined sets of targets at very high resolution. The nCounter Analysis System is meeting this need by providing a simple workflow, multiplexing, and direct detection and counting of individual RNA transcripts. The application of this technology to elucidate complex biological systems in cancer, developmental biology and cell signaling is demonstrated in a series of recent journal publications (for more information see: www.nanostring.com/applications/publications/).

"One of the important reasons customers choose the nCounter Analysis System is that it provides gold-standard molecular quantification in a highly multiplexed format, and it is easier to use than other technology platforms," said Brad Gray, President and CEO, NanoString Technologies. "With the new multiplexing capacity, it's as though you are performing 800 qPCR reactions in a single tube with only four pipetting steps."

The nCounter Analysis System is widely used for gene signature validation, translational research, pathway analysis, and validation of microarray and next-generation sequencing. It includes a fully automated Prep Station, a Digital Analyzer, the CodeSet (molecular barcodes) and all reagents needed to perform the analysis. The nCounter System offer protocols starting with as little as 100ng of material from a variety of specimen types including FFPE samples, cell lysate, whole-blood lysate, and total RNA. In addition to solutions for gene expression analysis, custom and off-the-shelf assay panels are available for miRNA profiling and genomic copy number variation detection.