Singapore: VolitionRx, a life sciences company focused on developing blood-based diagnostic tests, launched NuQ, its range-of-epigenetic immunoassays meant particularly for research. The NuQ products were launched at the Biochemical Society's annual symposium, 'Epigenetic mechanisms in development and disease', held last week in Leeds, England.

The NuQ range-of-products is based on the Nucleosomics platform, which identifies and measures nucleosome structures in cell culture, serum, plasma or other biofluids. The initial range comprises 15 immunoassays across four families, each of which captures intact nucleosomes and labels a specific feature.

Dr Jake Micallef, chief scientific officer for Volition's Nucleosomics platform, says, "These kits, which we are developing for clinical use in oncology, can also be used by a wide range of other researchers to study epigenetic structures in nucleosomes. The patent-protected technology is a novel and basic epigenetic tool applicable to researchers working in many disease areas as well as diverse biological fields like apoptosis, embryology, and stem cell research. Our range of NuQ kits will address these varied needs."

Mr Thomas Bygott, Volition's director of sales and marketing, said that, "Our proprietary kits will be between $1,050-$1,300. We estimate that the addressable market for these assays is several thousand kits per year. Epigenetics is one of the fastest growing disciplines in the life sciences, as scientists realise the potential of epigenetics to revolutionize our understanding of cellular processes.

Our products uniquely profile intact nucleosomes enabling quantification of, and comparison between, various epigenetic features. They are incredibly simple, reliable, robust, and reproducible, and no special equipment or training is needed beyond those required for standard ELISA tests."