What Is Magtration® Technology?
How It Works
Magtration® is a term we newly created, of which derived from abbreviating “Magnetic Filtration”. It is PSS original technology to automate the reaction process of magnetic particles. The automation of nucleic acid extraction mediated by magnetic particles had been thus far unsatisfactory because of the difficulty of integrating several key factors on one device. These difficult factors include the capturing efficiency (a key point of the particle controlling process), the re-suspension efficiency of the next process, preventing contamination and others. PSS solved these problems successfully by incorporating its proprietary Magtration® Technology in an extremely simplistic device which was originally used as an automated pipetting station.
Magtration® Technology is characterized by the adoption of a magnetic particle separation method that handles target substances only, and simple run devices that eliminate risks in automatic processes.
Innovating Clinical Diagnoses Processes
Simple Automation
Clinical diagnosis, which is useful in diagnosis and prognosis of illness, has been practiced widely and routinely in the world. There are in-vivo and in-vitro diagnoses in this field, and the in-vitro diagnosis methods are largely separated to biochemical testing, immunological serum testing and genetic testing, and the biochemical and immunological serum testing, which used for a long time, have been already mostly automated, and all processes after sample setting are carried out and the results outputted automatically in a single apparatus.
In contrast, as for genetic testing, only infectious disease tests such as of viruses and certain genetic tests have been put in practical application. Furthermore, the development of full automation in genetic testing has lagged far behind those of biochemical and immunological serum tests.
This is mostly due to the complexity of detection technology and difficulty of gene handling even though each testing process is relatively automated. Genetic tests require extraction of the genes such as DNAs from samples; nonetheless, automation of this process had been delayed.
PSS focused on magnetic particles already practically used as an ultimate immobilization material in automating immunological serum tests and studied automation of the extraction process needed for genetic tests. As a result, PSS invented a control technique of magnetic particles, by using a device based on a conventional X-Y-Z-axis robot-type pipetting machine, which has a specially-shaped plastic disposable tip and a magnet automatically detachable outside the tip. The technology is Magtration® Technology.
Applications
Genetic Test Fields
The PSS Magtration® instrument, consisting of a simple X-Y-Z pipetting station and magnet attached to it, can handle any magnetic particles. While the size of the apparatus is downsized in combination with a prepackaged reagent cartridge, nucleic acid extraction can be carried out without special skill.
Immunoassay
Immunoassay using magnetic particles has been automated in routine tests. However, those systems had very complicated mechanisms to handle magnetic particles. The PSS Magtration® Technology, which consists of a mechanism identical to that of conventional nucleic acid extraction apparatuses and a detecting element added to it, allows entire automation of all steps from reaction to analysis.
Meeting the Changing Demands of Specialized Fields
Simplifying the Science of Discovery
PSS is committed to the rapid development of products in various fields such as infectious disease, oncology, genetics, human identification, animals, and plants in order to contribute to the world’s ongoing health needs.
