Biodefense

Pathogen, Virus, & Threat Detection & Identification using Black Hole Quencher Dyes

START HERE

Real-time qPCR – Rapid, early, specific and sensitive detection

Viruses and other microbes that cause infection are increasingly identified only through their genetic signatures. Real-time qPCR is the industry standard for DNA analysis, and fluorogenic probes with Black Hole Quencher (BHQ) dyes* are the gold standard for pathogen detection in qPCR. Public health agencies depend upon real-time qPCR for single-molecule sensitivity and impressive dynamic range in their most urgent monitoring programs.

To assist in probe and primer selection, Biosearch offers RealTimeDesign™ (RTD™) software. RealTimeDesign software is a free, web-based assay design application for real-time qPCR that can design probes and primer sets to resolve non-standard pathogens and emerging threats.

*For Research Use Only.  Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Reliability & Scalability – From nanomoles to several millimoles

Technical excellence in oligonucleotide synthesis has established Biosearch Technologies as the preferred OEM to government laboratories and biodefense contractors. Biosearch’s manufacturing facilities have ample capacity to ramp up production and meet the urgent demands of the medical community, even during a pandemic.

Rapid and precise production is important for robust assays that guard the public health. Biosearch gains manufacturing efficiency through careful control over raw materials: phosphoramidite dyes, quenchers, and solid supports are synthesized in-house as essential precursors for oligo synthesis. Biosearch’s unique synthesizers enable high-throughput oligo synthesis, while automated robotics dispense probes and primers into exacting formulations.

BHQ Probes & Pathogen Detection

Biosearch Technologies is the source of BHQ® Probes.  The Black Hole Quencher dyes are renowned for versatile quenching across the visible spectrum, and without native fluorescence of their own. FRET and static quenching mechanisms allow for pairing with a wide range of reporters, including the CAL Fluor® and Quasar® fluorophores invented at Biosearch.

BHQ Probes incorporating these fluorescent reporters achieve excellent signal-to-noise values and expand multiplexed analysis to include reference genes, internal positive controls, even distinguish a group of organisms. For these reasons, BHQ Probes fuel the microfluidics of field-deployed instruments and are critical reagents in surveillance laboratories that detect and quantify pathogens. In fact, the CDC included BHQ Probes as an integral component in their 2009 H1N1 Panel to detect and identify cases of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus.