A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

febit (Lexington, Massachusetts) reported the receipt of U.S. patent No. 7,320,862 on its microfluidic microarray-based method for extraction of DNA and RNA.

This method forms the basis of a technology that enables the expanded use of sequencers in genomic research.

Further investigation of the human genome by re-sequencing will particularly benefit from the new method: the company uses its microfluidic biochip system for sequence-based selective isolation of nucleic acids from genomic samples.

This new approach to high-throughput sequencing essentially relies on high-density microarray biochips with flexible design, a technology established by febit several years ago.

The newly patented method is known as hybselect, targeted sequencing or sequence capture. Using this innovative technique, researchers are able to isolate genes or genomic regions of interest from a complex DNA sample prior to sequencing.

Febit's microfluidic biochip systems have been successfully used for several years in DNA analysis and synthesis. The latest patent was granted in the U.S., and the company said patents in Europe and other countries will soon follow.