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DNA Script advances evaluation program for the SYNTAX System

The SYNTAX System delivers DNA on demand to enable labs to control their workflow, innovate faster

13 Jun 2021
Diane Li
Assistant Editor

Industry news

DNA Script, a leading pioneer in enabling enzymatic DNA synthesis on demand, has announced the third and final phase of its evaluation program for the SYNTAX System, the world’s first benchtop printer powered by Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS) technology. This SYNTAX instrument is designed to require less than 15 minutes of hands-on setup and synthesize DNA in as little as six hours, producing 96 ready-to-use oligos in parallel.

Accelerating the company’s progress toward commercialization, DNA Script has fully subscribed the third phase of the evaluation program with 10 companies and organizations who installed the SYNTAX System in their own labs and are providing usability feedback to DNA Script. This final evaluation phase follows an earlier plate evaluation program, whereby more than 30 companies ordered, received and tested plates of custom oligos to provide feedback on use equivalency to their current oligo supply, and an alpha instrument evaluation program as well.

“With SYNTAX, you can design, build, test and repeat — even within the same day,” said Thomas Ybert, CEO and co-founder of DNA Script. “SYNTAX simplifies the synthesis process, enabling researchers with little training to upload sequence files, insert the reagent trays and get started without the need for dedicated, highly specialized personnel. The overwhelming feedback we’ve received has validated our goal of enabling labs to own their workflows and make their processes more efficient.”

The SYNTAX System employs DNA Script’s EDS technology, using a proprietary, highly engineered enzyme to accelerate nucleic acid synthesis and optimize its performance. Unlike conventional chemistry, this process is carried out in an open-air, aqueous medium without toxic solvents or hazardous waste. Enzymes enable SYNTAX to print functional oligos, even those that are hard to make using traditional phosphoramidite synthesis technology.

DNA Script’s EDS technology and its deployment in the SYNTAX System has already been recognized for its flexibility and accessibility, with both GE and Moderna separately partnering with the company as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Nucleic Acids On-Demand World-Wide (NOW) Program. The DARPA NOW program aims to develop a mobile medical rapid-response manufacturing platform for use in stabilization and humanitarian operations to rapidly produce, formulate, and package hundreds of doses of nucleic acid therapeutics. Current chemical-based methods of oligo production are not amenable to such a DNA-on-demand, deployable solution.

In addition, DNA Script’s EDS technology and the SYNTAX System previously were recognized and selected by the Molecular Encoding Consortium and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity’s (IARPA) Molecular Information Storage (MIST) program to explore nucleic acid data storage.

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OligonucleotidesOligonucleotides are small nucleic acid polymers, usually less than 20 bases in length. Oligonucleotides can be made via enzymatic cleavage or more commonly by chemical synthesis with polymerases. Their use includes FISH, southern blots, microarrays and as primers in PCR. High fidelity synthesis kits and detection systems are available for easy production and detection, respectively.DNA / RNA Extraction and PurificationPurified DNA and RNA are required for numerous downstream molecular biology applications. Consequently, the importance of high-quality DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment cannot be underestimated. Many purification kits are available and are typically optimized for nucleic acid type and source, including plasmid DNA, genomic DNA, mRNA, RNA and viral nucleic acid purification kits. Automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids can be implemented with magnetic bead separator instruments or high-throughput purification workstations. Find the best DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.DNA SequencingDNA sequencing, such as sanger sequencing, is a biological technique that determines the precise order of nucleotide bases in a fragment or template of DNA. DNA sequencers and genetic analyzers are based on capillary electrophoresis, where labeled DNA fragments are electrophoretically separated by size as they migrate through a polymer. Find the best DNA sequencing products, including DNA sequencing kits, genomic libraries and genetic identity kits in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.DNA / RNA QuantificationDetection and quantification of nucleic acids is important in molecular biology, cloning, expression, forensics and clinical diagnostics. Nucleic acids can be detected by labeling with colorimetric, fluorescent or radio labels and using in situ hybridization kits to identify specific sequences. Multiple nucleic acids can be detected and quantified at once using RNA / DNA detection beads or RNA / DNA microarrays. Find the best DNA / RNA Quantification products in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Nucleic Acid ConcentrationDNADeoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the main component of chromosomes and the carrier of genetic information of living organisms. Find out here about PCR, NGS, ChIP-Seq, gel imaging, and many other techniques which can be used for the analysis of DNA.Protein SynthesisSynthetic BiologyLab EssentialsLab essentials include laboratory consumables that are vital to the operation of all laboratories.

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DNA Script advances evaluation program for the SYNTAX System