Automated Purification of DNA from Large Samples: A Study of Effectiveness and Labor Efficiency

Implementing circulating tumor DNA analysis in a clinical laboratory: A user manual

Liquid biopsy, the analysis of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), is becoming one of the most promising tools in oncology. It has already shown its usefulness in selecting and modulating therapy via remote analysis of the tumor genome and holds important promises in cancer therapy and management, such as assessing the success of key therapeutic steps, monitoring residual disease, early detection of relapses, and establishing prognosis. Yet, ctDNA analysis is technically challenging and its implementation in the laboratory raises multiple strategic and practical issues. As for oncology clinics, integration of this novel test in well-established therapeutic protocols can also pose numerous questions. The current review is intended as a field guide for (1) diagnostic laboratories wishing to implement, validate and possibly accredit ctDNA testing and (2) clinical oncologists interested in integrating the various applications of liquid biopsies in their daily practice. We provide advice and practical recommendations based on our own experience with the technical validations of these methods and on a review of the current literature, with a focus toward gastro-intestinal, lung and breast cancers.

Liquid-Handling Robotic Workstations for Functional Genomics

More and more functional genomics laboratories are willing to invest in robotic workstations due to the higher throughput liquid-handling intensive nature of the work. In this report, the features of robotic workstations important for functional genomics are discussed. Workstations for functional genomics are useful for replication of clone sets, PCR and sequencing set-up and clean-up, hit picking, gel loading, and nucleic acid purification procedures. Workstations not only increase throughput, but also ensure that assay steps are performed consistently, human error- and learning curve-free from run to run. Workstations fit on a laboratory bench and may have several robotic arms in different configurations. Available configurations include grippers and single-, oligo-, or multi-probe heads, with uniform or independent spanning, and liquid-level detection or tracking options. Most hardware and software packages can be designed for integration with other automated devices, building towards a fully automated system.