AN0004 - Efficient real-time PCR
AN0005 - TaqMan® chemistry is compatible with Spartan DX^TM
AN0009 - SYBR® Green I concentrations for real-time PCR
AN0011 - SYBR® Green master mix kits work with Spartan DX^TM
AN0012 - Master mix kits for TaqMan® probes
AN0021 - Fluorophores compatible with the Spartan DX^TM
AN0022 - Faster binding kinetics with BHQPlus™ probes

Reagents and Enzymes

AN0013 - illustraTM PCR Beads for convenient real-time PCR
AN0014 - Comparison of DNA polymerases for real-time PCR with SYBR® Green I
AN0030 - ReaXTM beads for convenient real-time PCR

Sample Collection and Purification

AN0003 - Direct testing of human buccal cells
AN0015 - Comparison of DNA purification kits for whole blood
AN0028 - DNA extraction with the BuccalQuick™ kit
AN0029 - DNA extraction from Whatman FTA® cards
LM0001 - Real-Time PCR with DNA from Saliva

Thermal Kinetics

AN0002 - DNA amplification with partial-contact heating
AN0006 - Temperature overshoot improves speed of PCR
AN0008 - Effect of increasing reaction volumes on PCR
AN0010 - Comparison of thermal cycler heating and cooling efficiencies
AN0017 - Comparison of different brands of PCR tubes

Disease Applications

AN0001 - Real-time PCR detection of Staphylococcus aureus
AN0007 - Real-time PCR detection of MRSA
AN0019 - Real-time PCR detection of VRE

AN0004 - Efficient real-time PCR
The Spartan DXTM is capable of achieving real-time PCR efficiencies approaching the theoretical maximum of 100 percent.

PDF (92KB)

AN0005 - TaqMan® chemistry is compatible with Spartan DX
The Spartan DX^TM is able to perform real-time PCR with TaqMan® probes. Compared to SYBR Green® I, TaqMan probes increase the specificity of real-time PCR.

PDF (74KB)

AN0009 - SYBR® Green I concentrations for real-time PCR
The Spartan DX™ performs best with SYBR Green I concentrations ranging from 0.2 - 0.7 X. The optimal concentration is 0.4 X.

PDF (75KB)

AN0011 - SYBR® Green master mix kits work with Spartan DX
The Spartan DX™ personal DNA analyzer is compatible with commercially available SYBR Green I master mix kits for real-time PCR.

PDF (57KB)

AN0012 - Master mix kits for TaqMan® probes
Master mix kits for TaqMan® probes are a convenient method for achieving successful results without optimizing reaction conditions.

PDF (62KB)

AN0021 - Fluorophores compatible with the Spartan DX^TM
Green- and yellow-emitting fluorophores are compatible with the Spartan DXTM. Examples include FAM, CAL Fluor® Gold 540, and CAL Fluor Orange 560.

PDF (90KB)

AN0022 - Faster binding kinetics with BHQPlus™ probes
BHQPlus™ is a new probe chemistry from Biosearch Technologies that increases probe melting temperature and enables more sensitive fluorescence detection. Using a BHQPlus probe, real-time PCR was performed in 15 min on the Spartan DX™.

PDF (84KB)

AN0013 - illustra PCR Beads for convenient real-time PCR
The illustra PCR beads are pre-mixed, pre-dispensed, single-dose reactions that enable convenient set up of real-time PCR amplifications on the Spartan DX™

PDF (56KB)

AN0014 - Comparison of DNA polymerases for real-time PCR with SYBR® Green I
Nine commercial DNA polymerases were evaluated for real-time PCR performance. The polymerase with the fastest elongation rate was SpeedSTAR™ from Takara. For non-hotstart enzymes, Bio-Rad’s iTaq and Biotools’ DNA polymerase had the best balance of speed and minimal primer-dimer formation. For hotstart enzymes, the best performers were SpeedSTAR HS from Takara and KAPA2G Robust from Kapa Biosystems.

PDF (63KB)

AN0030 - ReaX™ beads for convenient real-time PCR
ReaX beads simplify PCR setup by containing all of the reagents necessary to perform PCR: PCR buffer, dNTPs, Taq polymerase, and Magnesium chloride. They are compatible with the SpartanDX™ desktop DNA analyzer, and may be used for end-point PCR, real-time PCR, multiplex PCR, and reverse transcription applications.

PDF (80KB)

AN0003 - Direct testing of human buccal cells
The EPICENTRE BuccalAmp^TM DNA Extraction Kit enables human genomic DNA to be collected and extracted in 5 min. The Spartan DX^TM personal DNA analyzer provides real-time PCR results with the human DNA in 49 min. These two technologies combined enable human genetic testing in less than 1 hour.
PDF (165KB)

AN0015 - Comparison of DNA purification kits for whole blood
The Spartan DX™ real-time PCR instrument is compatible with DNA purified from blood using commercial kits from GE Life Sciences, QIAGEN, Invitrogen, and Promega.

PDF (70KB)

AN0028 - DNA extraction with the BuccalQuick™ kit
BuccalQuick™ is designed to effi ciently extract genomic DNA from a buccal swab or brush. The xtraction is performed in a single tube and the whole process is completed in under 10 minutes. No centrifugation or further purifi cation steps are required. DNA from a single swab is suffi cient for 30-50 PCR reactions.

PDF (84KB)

AN0029 - DNA extraction from Whatman FTA® cards
FTA cards enable human genomic DNA to be collected from blood or saliva and stored at room temperature. DNA extracted from FTA cards is compatible with the Spartan DX™.

PDF (68KB)

LM0001 - Real-Time PCR with DNA from Saliva
Hands-on introduction to the principles and practice of real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Step-by-step laboratory manual for students with a simple protocol for real-time PCR analysis using the Spartan DX™ instrument and its accompanying graphing software using a fast DNA collection and extraction protocol from saliva.

PDF (159KB)

AN0002 - DNA amplification with partial-contact heating
The Spartan DX^TM amplifies DNA products with the same accuracy and reliability as conventional fixed-temperature and ramping-temperature thermal cyclers, and with equivalent or faster run times.

PDF (65KB)

AN0006 - Temperature overshoot improves speed of PCR
The Spartan DX^TM performs real-time PCR using fixed temperature heat blocks. Compared to Peltier-based thermal cyclers, run times may be twice as fast because no time is lost in ramping heat block temperatures. Here we show that run times can be improved even further using a simple temperature overshoot protocol (patent pending).

PDF (70KB)

AN0008 - Effect of increasing reaction volumes on PCR
Total reaction volume affects the efficiency of heating and cooling on the Spartan DX^TM. It was found that 20 µl is the ideal reaction volume, although volumes from 10-50 µl may be used.

PDF (66KB)

AN0010 - Comparison of thermal cycler heating and cooling efficiencies
The Spartan DX™ has heating and cooling rates that are comparable to Peltier-controlled and fixed-temperature thermal cyclers. Using a simple temperature overshoot program, the Spartan DX^TM can achieve significantly faster temperature transitions.

PDF (93KB)

AN0017 - Comparison of different brands of PCR tubes
PCR tubes with thinner side walls have faster heating and cooling kinetics. We recommend thin-wall tubes from Fisher Scientific (Cat. No. 08-408-214) and DiaMed (Cat. No. AD0210-FCN).

PDF (55KB)

AN0001 - Real-time PCR detection of Staphylococcus aureus
The Spartan DX^TM enables on-demand real-time PCR identification of Staphylococcus aureus in less than 30 min with DNA extracted from bacterial colonies using a rapid boiling lysis method.

PDF (59KB)

AN0007 - Real-time PCR detection of MRSA
The Spartan DX^TM can be used for on-demand, non-batched testing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PDF (94KB)

AN0019 - Real-time PCR detection of VRE
On-demand, non-batched testing of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) with the Spartan DX^TM.

PDF (85KB)