Akonni Biosystems Expands Family of TruTip Extraction Products for Hamilton Microlab STAR Line of Liquid Handling Workstations

“Smart-tip” approach for rapidly generating high quality human gDNA now supports extraction from tissue, buffy coat, cells and saliva

Frederick, MD —January 14, 2013 — Akonni Biosystems today announced it has extended its family of “smart-tip” extraction products for rapidly purifying human genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (gDNA) on the Hamilton Microlab® STAR™ line of robotic liquid handling workstations. The first product in the family of gDNA kits provides laboratory technicians with the ability to process up to 300 µL of fresh or frozen whole blood. This kit now has the added capability to be used to process other sample types including buffy coat, tissue, buccal swabs and cells. For all sample types, this kit delivers superior quality gDNA simultaneously from eight to 96 samples in less than 60 minutes.

The second TruTip® gDNA kit now available supports the extraction and concentration of gDNA for up to 400 µL of saliva collected using Oragene® DISCOVER Collection Kit fromDNA Genotek, Inc., a subsidiary of OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR). Given the non-invasive nature of collecting gDNA from saliva samples compared to blood, this sample type is commonly used for very large-scale genetic studies, such as for breast cancer research.

TruTip extraction kits running on Hamilton Microlab STAR system do not require a magnetic head, vacuum manifold, centrifuge, or other space-consuming or expensive capital equipment. Both TruTip gDNA Kits can be used with a variety of backend analytical tools, including qPCR, real time PCR, digital PCR, microarrays, and mid-multiplex bead-based systems, as well as traditional and next-generation sequencing systems.

“The Akonni TruTip line of products are simple to use with our workstations and save our customers time while ensuring reliable results by reducing the amount of hands-on steps to extract gDNA prior to performing complex analytics,” said Bobby Chavli, Associate Director of Marketing and Business Development at Hamilton Robotics. “It is terrific to see a rapid succession of new ‘smart-tips’ to match our customer’s requirements.”

“TruTip is an industry-first smart consumable for sample preparation created specifically to reduce bottlenecks in high-throughput genetic testing. By adding the ability to extract DNA from tissue, cells and saliva, we now have wide coverage across the sample types most commonly used for downstream genetic-based research,” states Kevin Banks, Ph.D., Vice President Strategic Development at Akonni Biosystems. Banks adds, “We are excited to continue expanding our TruTip line of products running on liquid handling workstations manufactured by Hamilton Robotics, as these systems are universally recognized as being the most reliable and highest performing in the industry.”

Akonni Biosystems will be presenting a poster at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference (SLAS2013) entitled “SmartTip” Approach to Automated Genomic DNA Extraction using Akonni TruTip Technology on Hamilton Microlab STAR Liquid Handling Workstation on Monday, January 14, 1:00 – 3:00 PM (MP080).

About TruTip Extraction Kits

The patented TruTip family of products uses a porous nucleic acid binding matrix embedded in a pipette tip and extracts DNA or Ribonucleic acid (RNA) using well-understood chaotropic salt chemistry. These new kits for gDNA enable completion of the entire extraction process, including a fully automated onboard heat incubation step, in less than an hour and are four to five times faster than most traditional high-throughput approaches. TruTip delivers “gold-standard- equivalent” yields with superior purity and reproducibility. These kits are currently released for RUO.

About Akonni Biosystems

Akonni is a developer of highly innovative products and technologies designed to significantly increase productivity in the life science tools market (“Sample Prep Market”) and to dramatically lower the cost of testing in the molecular diagnostics market (“MDx Market”). Akonni Biosystems was founded in 2003 and has over 48 patents issued or pending. Supported by a series of government grants and contracts from NIH, CDC, DOE, DOD, NIJ, and NSF, the company has significantly advanced the original technology by improving its capabilities from sample preparation to final result. Commercial products and those in its near-term pipeline include rapid sample preparation methodologies for nucleic acid extraction and mid-multiplex panel assays for detecting multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), upper respiratory infections, viral encephalitis, and healthcare-associated infections (MRSA). For more information on Akonni Biosystems please visit http://www.akonni.com.

About Hamilton Robotics

Hamilton is a leading worldwide supplier of precision liquid handling equipment, laboratory automation and storage systems, serving customers in academic and private research laboratories, pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostic companies and governmental institutions. Hamilton maintains headquarters in Reno, Nevada and Bonaduz, Switzerland, both of which house R&D and production facilities. Hamilton has subsidiaries for direct sales and service in many countries and works with a wide distributor network in other regions. Hamilton is a privately held company. For more information, visit www.hamiltonrobotics.com.