DiaCarta Launches QClamp Real-Time PCR Kit for Detecting Somatic Mutations

DiaCarta Inc., a San Francisco based molecular diagnostics technology company has launched its new QClamp somatic mutation real time PCR  test for  identifying important mutations in cancer related genes. QClamp is a rapid, highly sensitive test for BRAF, EGFR, KRAS, NRAS, PIK3CA and other mutations.

The QClamp somatic mutation test is based on the company’s proprietary xeno-nucleic acid (XNA) technology where the XNA oligonucleotides form XNA-DNA duplexes with greater affinity than DNA-DNA duplexes, allowing selective PCR amplification of only the mutant templates while suppressing the wild type from being amplified. This makes it easier to identify mutant DNA in the presence of excess wild type DNA templates. The QClamp somatic mutation test kit can be used with different types of samples including FFPE, needle biopsy, whole blood and urine to get results in less than 2 hours, without having to extract DNA. It is sensitive enough to detect mutated DNA present in levels as less as 0.1% by using very small amount of DNA or cells (2-5 ng or 5-10 cells).

Characterizing mutations using DNA sequencing test is one of the least effective methods with a success rate ranging from 10% to 20%. The new QClamp somatic mutation test addresses this shortcoming in a simple, economical, efficient, flexible and more sensitive way. The QClamp tests can be run on all real-time PCR machines currently available in the market.