There’s a common theme among people who pursue careers in the life sciences: one way or another, most of us wound up here because we wanted to make the world a little bit better. No wonder, then, that so many of us focus on sustainability in our science — or at least in the products we choose to use.
The Quantabio team is committed to empowering scientists while being as good to the planet as possible. That’s why we are developing a new line of eco-friendly products, starting with our eQo 1-Step ToughMix kit. The eQo (pronounced “eco”) product line is in a lyophilized, bead-based format that is conveniently shipped, stored, and set up at ambient temperature. That eliminates the need for dry ice, significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with shipping and the harmful environmental impact of producing carbon dioxide.
When we began thinking about how to reformulate our products in a more sustainable version, we knew that it was just as important to achieve better performance as it was to be eco-friendly. We focused on lyophilization — even though it’s very challenging because traditional ToughMix chemistries are not amenable to it — because this single change can remove up to 99% of the weight associated with dry ice shipments of standard molecular biology liquid reagents.
It was an ambitious goal, but through years of R&D efforts, we achieved a formulation that delivered excellent results even when subjected to the water-removal process of lyophilization. The new product is based on novel enzymes that excel in speed, fidelity, processivity, inhibitor tolerance, elevated reverse transcription temperatures, sensitivity, stability, and dynamic range. The kit, which supports five-plex assays, has consistently demonstrated higher yields with better amplification rates and lower quantification cycle values for a variety of RNA assays compared to traditional products.
With the eQo 1-Step ToughMix kit, scientists will get a different experience for PCR or qPCR workflows. Customers will receive one tube of lyophilized eQo beads and another of a proprietary liquid buffer solution. Both tubes are stable at room temperatures for up to a year. When mixed together, they yield a liquid master mix that is stable at -20ºC for a year. In addition, the reverse transcription enzyme was engineered to have warm start properties, enabling ambient temperature reaction setup and eliminating the need for ice buckets — letting you take this reagent into the field. The enzyme also allows for first-strand cDNA synthesis at temperatures of 55ºC - 60ºC, overcoming rigid RNA secondary structures for improved sensitivity. The kit was designed to withstand multiple freeze and thaw cycles, and the product packaging can be recycled.
We believe the eQo product line gives scientists the best of both worlds: stellar results and sustainable workflows. It also marks a truly significant (and much-needed) leap forward in PCR master mix chemistry.
2min
Jul 2, 2024
