Biomarker anaylsis using scodaphoresis
AssigneesBoreal Genomics, Inc., The University of British Columbia
InventorsAndrea Marziali, Matthew Wiggin, Gosuke Shibahara, Valentina Semenovna Vysotskaia
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Abstract
The invention discloses methods and apparatus for characterizing trace nucleic acids that are biomarkers for disease. The methods and apparatus provide increased sensitivity to such trace nucleic acids, and allow analysis of nucleic acids present in a sample at only 0.01% of the wild-type sequences. The methods and apparatus are also designed for straightforward multiplexing, thus allowing pooling of clinical samples.
Claims28
A method of characterizing a biomarker in a sample, the method comprising:
- providing a sample comprising a nucleic acid that is a biomarker for a disease;
- loading the sample on a separation medium;
- enriching the sample for the nucleic acid by applying a time-varying driving field and a time-varying mobility-varying field to the separation medium;
- and
- characterizing the enriched nucleic acid in the sample with a technique selected from nucleic acid sequencing, quantitative PCR (qPCR), mass spectrometry, and hybridization assay.
A method of characterizing a plurality of nucleic acids, comprising:
- providing a sample comprising a first nucleic acid and a second nucleic acid;
- loading the sample on a separation medium;
- enriching the sample for the first and second nucleic acids by applying a time-varying driving field and a time-varying mobility-varying field to the separation medium;
- and
- characterizing the enriched first and second nucleic acids in the sample with a technique selected from nucleic acid sequencing, quantitative PCR (qPCR), mass spectrometry, and hybridization assay.
A system for characterizing a nucleic acid, the system comprising:
- a nucleic acid amplification stage;
- a nucleic acid enrichment stage, comprising a separation medium in electrical communication with electrodes capable of producing at least two non-collinear time-dependent electric fields;
- and
- a nucleic acid characterization stage, capable of identifying the sequence of the nucleic acid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.