The Hitachi Software MiraiBio Group Blog

The Hitachi Software MiraiBio Online Store has opened it’s doors for business on July 1st, 2008.  Currently, the product catalog includes:

• Luminex MicroPlex xTAG Microspheres (FlexMAP)
• Luminex MicroPlex Microspheres (Carboxylated)
• Luminex LumAvidin Microspheres
• Luminex SeroMAP Microspheres
• Luminex Calibration and Control Microspheres

Just like any other e-commerce site, all you have to do is add the beads you want to your shopping cart and checkout.  It just does not get any easier.

Many of the FlexMAP (now called xTAG) microsphere users relied on the TagIT software to help choose which microsphere sets to use in genetic detection assays run on the xMAP platform. When the TagIT software was removed these users no longer had a reliable way to design their assays. Well the good news is that TagIT is back! Read the rest of this entry »

Hitachi Software recently released a free software tool to automate the design of SNP genotyping assays using Allele Specific Primer Extension (ASPE) on the xMAP platform. The ASPE approach utilizes Luminex Corporation’s xTAG (formerly FlexMAP) microspheres which are pre-coupled to oligonucleotide sequences (anti-tags) that are optimized to be an isothermal set and to have minimum cross-reactivity. The detection probes have the tag sequence synthesized on the 5′ end. The use of the pre-coupled xTAG microspheres simplifies the assay greatly. Read the rest of this entry »

Hitachi Software’s MiraiBio Group has recently launched 2 new software tools in the DNASIS SmartNote web application: the Allele Specific Primer Extension (ASPE) Assay Design tool and the xTAG Software (formerly TagIT) tool. These tools are important time savers for those who are interested in multiplexing their SNP or genotyping assays on the Luminex xMAP (also sold by Bio-Rad as the Bio-Plex) platform.

Read the rest of this entry »