Sensitive material
Nowadays, the decoding of genetic material is a standard procedure taking only a few hours. However, the costs are still high, amounting to 1.000 Euro per analysis. Genetic material is very sensitive to external influences therefore the quality, and therefore usability, of the samples needs to be checked before the sequencing.
For that purpose, Screen Tape was developed. Depending on its version, DNA or RNA samples can be evaluated. Agilent’s Screen Tape features 16 lanes allowing the analysis of 16 different samples, while being the approximate size of a credit card only. Depending on the field of application, various parameters such as quantity and purity are analyzed. The results of the samples are available after about one minute. Thus, even before the time-consuming and expensive sequencing, it can be decided whether the genetic material is suitable for further evaluations.
-
The ScreenTape works on the principle of electrophoresis.
The ScreenTape is used for the analysis of DNA or RNA samples.
-
The "Trinity" joins the Printed Layer with the Process Layer.
The “Trinity” project is already the third cooperation of Agilent with Harro Höfliger.
Exact lamination
“Trinity”, the machine for producing the ScreenTape, is the third project of Agilent Technologies with Harro Höfliger. During the manufacturing process, a Printed Layer with imprinted electrode connections is combined with a thermoformed Process Layer. These two main components are laminated in three stations running in parallel, with frequent camera controls to ensure that the samples are free of contaminations or scratches.
As the sensitive ScreenTape film material allows sealing at a specific temperature only, the Harro Höfliger “Engineering & Innovation Services” Team built the lamination unit ahead of the actual machine, for testing purposes. The “Trinity” also features a data connection for the digital recording of process and batch data.
Links
MARKET SEGMENTS
Diagnostic Products
Customized solutions for the production of highly precise systems for diagnostic purposes