LGC expands nucleic acid extraction service into North America
To be delivered from genomics lab near Boston
LGC Group, headquartered in Teddington, Middlesex in the UK, has expanded its nucleic acid extraction service capacity into North America. The service will complement existing capacity in Germany and the UK and will be delivered from the Group’s genomics laboratory in Beverly, MA.
LGC Genomics, the Group’s genomics business, has substantial experience in the nucleic acid extraction field, offering not only outsourcing options for customers worldwide but also reagents and instrumentation for laboratories that wish to run their extraction work in-house. With a range of proprietary nucleic acid extraction technologies, including the sbeadex and Kleargene ranges, along with instruments that enable automation, LGC Genomics is able to support both large- and small-scale research projects.
The company has expertise in obtaining nucleic acids from a variety of biological matrices including blood, mouse tails, plant seeds and leaves, microbial cultures and forensic samples is a key element of the service.
With a strong customer base in the agricultural biotechnology sector, laboratory staff also have significant experience working in areas of disease research and drug development, and particularly with cohort studies where the efficient extraction of DNA from very large sample numbers followed by genotyping of those samples is critical to the research effort.
Steve Asquith, head of Global Laboratory Operations, said: ‘DNA extraction is a necessary step before any genotyping work can be undertaken and this added capacity will allow us to provide greater support than ever before to an expanding global customer base – including many multinational research teams.’
The Beverly lab, established in 2011, has been providing genotyping services based on the company’s proprietary KASP genotyping technology, and will begin extraction operations early this year. The expanded service capability will enable a more comprehensive genomics project support service for customers in North America, enabling full project delivery through a single supplier and significant efficiency gains.