QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System

The Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System is a plate-based digital PCR (dPCR) platform powered by proprietary microfluidic array plate (MAP) technology. that enables all the necessary steps for dPCR—compartmentalizing, thermal cycling, and data acquisition—to be conducted on a single instrument. The dPCR workflow is identical to the qPCR workflow you are familiar with to improve ease of use, minimize hands on steps, and maximize consistency.

dPCR overcomes variability and low accuracy by eliminating the need for a standard curve. The QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System consists of just one instrument, consolidating all steps required into a single plate and transforming a multi-step multi-instrument workflow into a one-step qPCR-like workflow.

The Absolute Q system’s proprietary microfluidic array plate (MAP) technology enables effortless and consistent digitization of 20,000 precisely defined microchambers. With under 5% dead volume, you will see the whole picture and minimize sample loss with every reaction.

For samples with rare targets, the volume of sample analyzed is critical to detect ultra-rare events, such as detecting ctDNA for liquid biopsy applications. It is important for liquid biopsy assays to provide precise and accurate quantification of those rare variants, which typically exist among high levels of wild-type background DNA.

Absolute Q Liquid Biopsy dPCR assays are a precise, cost-effective, and rapid method for monitoring response and resistance to treatment by testing for relevant cancer-driver and therapy-resistant mutations.

Gene and cell therapies utilize a variety of viral vectors for gene transfer, and as such absolute quantification or viral titer must be measured accurately, precisely, and consistently.

Absolute Q Viral Titer dPCR assays enable easy, accurate, absolute quantification of viral vector genomes. The assays can be run individually or multiplexed using a custom assay with your target gene of interest to measure concentration and evaluate quality for biopharma and gene therapy research.

Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies had accelerated the discovery of actionable genomic targets. Accurate quantification of the final library products is critical to maximizing both data quality and output. Multiple studies have demonstrated that utilizing dPCR as a quantification tool for NGS libraries before sequencing helps optimize sequencing run performance, data generation, and data quality.

For samples with very rare targets, the volume of sample input may impact the ability to detect ultra-rare events. In this technical note, the Digital Pooling feature of the Absolute Q Analysis Software is highlighted by showcasing rare target detection of mutation allele frequencies (MAF) at 0.1% using multiple MAP16 dPCR arrays.

The unique architecture of the QuantStudio Absolute Q system and the MAP16 array allows flexibility that is not offered by any other dPCR platform. See how a single consumable can be used iteratively in order to maximize data collection without wasted materials