ZyGEM Corp. announced that it has acquired MicroLab Diagnostics Inc., a private company developing microfluidic devices for rapid DNA testing. ZyGEM intends to market products integrating its unique DNA extraction and reagents and detection assays with the breakthrough microfluidic chip technology developed by MicroLab, which will operate as a business unit of the new company. These integrated new products will dramatically decrease the time, complexity and cost of conducting DNA testing and have transformational potential in a broad range of applications.

Data presented at a recent scientific meeting demonstrated that a prototype of the new system produced accurate DNA results in less than an hour, comparable to results obtained with current technology requiring three separate instruments and five to 10 hours. The new technology has the potential to revolutionize DNA testing for the many applications where accuracy, speed, and ease-of-use are critical, including, forensics, biodefense, point-of-care diagnostics and food pathogen testing.



MicroLab Diagnostics has developed advanced microfluidics chip technology that is exclusively licensed to the new company. MicroLab’s miniaturization of the entire DNA testing process within a single closed system has many advantages. It significantly reduces the amount of sample and reagents that are needed while virtually eliminating the chances for handling error or contamination. The ZyGEM/MicroLab system is compact, easy-to-use and cost-effective, making it suitable for use both in the laboratory and out in the field. It can perform multiplexed analyses and can also be configured for specific applications. Portable handheld versions are in development.