Editing BioMicroCenter:News2017+ (section)

=== JULY 2017 ===
We have several exciting developments to tell you about over the next few months. This month, we have some major changes in our QC with the addition of an [[BioMicroCenter:FemtoPulse|AATI FemtoPulse]] and an upgrade of the [[BioMicroCenter:Advanced_analytical_Fragment_analyzer| AATI Fragment Analyzer]]. <BR><BR>

[[BioMicroCenter:FemtoPulse|AATI FemtoPulse]] is a redesigned version of the Fragment Analyzer that significantly expands its capabilities. The new instrument can detect nucleic acid down to concentrations of 5 fg/ul – approximately 5000 molecules of a 1kb fragment. In addition, it will incorporate a pulse field generator allowing it to separate fragments of over 200kb.  Advanced Analytical has provided us an early instrument in the hope of identifying novel applications that require this extreme sensitivity. The Femto Pulse was donated to the BioMicro Center by the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences. We will be scheduling a Technology Seminar to introduce the FemtoPulse in the fall.<BR><BR>

Next week we will also be upgrading our [[BioMicroCenter:Advanced_analytical_Fragment_analyzer|AATI Fragment Analyzer]] from a 12 capillary to a 48 capillary machine to address consistent and increasing backlogs on the instrument. This expanded capacity will allow us to batch many more samples on each run. A side effect of this upgrade is we will need to likely move some smaller projects back to the Agilent BioAnalyzer to avoid wasting reagents.  For the moment, we will not be adjusting the rates of batched samples.<BR><BR>

Deployment of the Femto Pulse and upgrade of the Fragment Analyzer will occur this coming Monday to Wednesday. During this time, there may be some delays while the instruments are installed and serviced. We will also use this time to upgrade the iLab sample submission system, so we ask for your patience while we roll these changes out.<BR><BR>