Bio-Rad Introduces New iQ-Check™ Prep System for Automated Real-Time PCR Detection of Food Pathogens

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. today announced the launch of its iQ-Check Prep automation system. The liquid handling platform advances food pathogen testing by automating sample preparation for detection by real-time PCR.

Molecular methods are becoming the gold standard in food pathogen testing. International regulators now characterize pathogens such as Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC) in molecular terms, as these pathogens cannot be reliably diagnosed by traditional methods such as ELISA. The iQ-Check Prep system was designed to facilitate the wide-scale movement toward the use of molecular approaches for pathogen detection in food laboratories.

Designed to optimize the full range of Bio-Rad’s validated real-time PCR food pathogen detection kits, the iQ-Check Prep system enables walk-away automation of DNA extraction and PCR plate setup. Testing labs can seamlessly incorporate the system into their existing workflows without disruption.

The system offers the full traceability that is critical for food pathogen detection methods.
Key benefits include:
• Greater flexibility — runs up to four different iQ-Check assays simultaneously and performs 500 tests in one 8-hour shift, so lab resources can be reallocated to perform other tasks
• Increased confidence and efficiency — improves traceability with barcodes and LIMS integration, provides real-time monitoring of each pipet step with liquid level sensing, and uses internationally validated protocols
• Design that makes your work easier — equipped with ready-to-use, load-and-go reagents and an intuitive user interface, and designed for limited maintenance: air-displacement pipetting eliminates vacuum pumps and liquid waste

Current AOAC and AFNOR/ISO 16140 approvals have been extended for use with the iQ-Check Prep system.