QIAGEN QIAprep&amp CRISPR Kit and CRISPR Q-Primer Solutions

QIAGEN’s QIAprep&amp CRISPR Kit and CRISPR Q-Primer Solutions allow researchers to analyse edited genetic material with speed and efficiency to determine how their interventions have changed the function of the DNA sequence in question. Short for ‘clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats’, CRISPR has a host of potential applications, from correcting genetic defects, to treating and preventing the spread of diseases, to accelerating drug discovery and biomedical research.

The CRISPR products provide scientists with a sensitive, all-in-one process for characterising so-called knock-outs generated from guide RNA (gRNA) and knock-ins from small insertions during gene editing. Kit and solutions combine liquid-based sample preparation with downstream PCR detection as well as the Sanger method of DNA sequencing.

The highly sensitive tools should reduce the time to result in experiments, with cell cultivation requirements cut down by seven days compared to existing methods, accelerating research in the field. They thus provide a boost to CRISPR’s potential for breakthroughs in biomedical research into cancer, neurological conditions, gene therapy, cell therapy, immunotherapy, regenerative medicine and disease modelling — as well as the discovery of disease-signalling biomarkers and drug development.

The products are optimised for analyses of cells edited with methods such as CRISPR with adherent and suspension cell cultures — including experiments with the proteins Cas9 and Cas12a often used to cut DNA — and can even be used with single-cell inputs. Positive PCR controls for human, mouse and rat are included to determine the effectiveness of gene-editing conditions. Primers for PCR and Sanger sequencing can be easily customised to suit any target.