FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER
21, 2003
QTL Biosystems announces a new super-quenching fluorescence
based assay for HTS and Drug Discovery
Santa Fe, New Mexico – QTL
Biosystems, LLC, a provider of innovative solutions
for bio-detection,
drug discovery, and life science research, announced
today the release of the QTL LIGHTSPEED™ ß-SECRETASE
Assay Kit. This assay utilizes a fluorescent polyelectrolyte-based
super-quenching polymer that offers several advantages
over conventional small molecule fluorescence.
The
QTL LIGHTSPEED™ platform provides a single step, instantaneous,
homogenous assays, and addresses a broad spectrum of
drug targets in high-throughput
screening.
Fluorescence based assays are considered one of the
most important screening techniques
used in pharmaceutical drug discovery. However, many
drug targets exhibit weak
activity or are expressed at very low levels and do
not generate reliable results in
traditional assay formats. A technique commonly used
is FRET (fluorescence resonance
energy transfer).
The QTL LIGHTSPEED™ technology offers
a significant
performance advantage over conventional FRET.
The FRET reactions typically couple a single fluorophore
with a single quencher molecule.
QTL LIGHTSPEED™ (“QTL” stands for “quencher-tether-ligand”)
couples a
quencher molecule with a fluorescent polymer chain.
Each quencher alters fluorescence
of several hundred fluorophores. The enhanced fluorescent
activity of “QTL” enables the
end user greater sensitivity, specificity, less time
to results, and material cost savings.
QTL Biosystems has applied our novel QTL LIGHTSPEED™
technology to
Alzheimer’s disease research. The major constituent
of the senile plaques associated
with Alzheimer’s diseases is the gamma-amyloid
peptide, generated by the activity of the
enzyme ß-Secretase in the human brain. The QTL LIGHTSPEED™
ß-Secretase assay
combines high-sensitivity with high speed for screening
potential inhibitors against ß-
Secretase. “
Because the QTL LIGHTSPEED™ ß-secretase Assay Kit
generates a large signal,
researchers will be able to generate results that offer
better signal to noise, more
robustness, enhanced sensitivity, and quicker time
to results, even at the highest
throughput densities.” stated Duncan McBranch,
Ph.D. Co-founder and CEO at QTL
Biosystems. "Researchers will soon be able to
harness this technology to screen for
multiple drug targets and compound libraries.”stated
David Whitten, Ph.D. Co-founder
and CTO at QTL Biosystems. Technical Officer at QTL
Biosystems.
ABOUT QTL Biosystems
QTL Biosystems, LLC is a supplier of amplification
technologies for bioassays that
accelerate and improve drug discovery, bio-detection,
and other life sciences research.
The Company’s assay solutions facilitate the
high throughput and cost effective
identification and evaluation of drug candidates. The
Company’s advanced core
technologies integrate its expertise in chemistry,
molecular and cell biology and
instrumentation. QTL Biosystems enables its customers
to improve research productivity
and effectiveness, which ultimately accelerates the
complex process of discovering and
developing new drugs.
CONTACT
Paul Gindlesperger
Director of Sales and Marketing
pgindlesperger@qtlbio.com
QTL Biosystems, LLC
2778 Agua Fria Street, Bldg. C
Santa Fe, NM 87507
(505) 424-1000, ext. 116
www.qtlbio.com
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