Norgen Biotek Corp, a privately held Canadian biotechnology company focusing principally on advancing a powerful proprietary technology for application in sample preparation for nucleic acid (DNA, RNA and microRNA) and protein purification, today announced the expansion of its basket of urine-based sample preparation products by launching 3 new urine concentration, preservation and isolation kits. With the launch of these novel kits Norgen now has the largest basket of kits to preserve, concentrate and purify macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, microRNA, proteins, exfoliated cells and microorganisms from less than 1 ml up to 30 ml of urine for the use in diagnostics and biomarker discovery research.

These kits provide a fast, robust, reliable and simple method for urine collection, concentration, preservation as well as isolation of high quality urine DNA, RNA, microRNA and proteins for a variety of applications such as PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR, qRT-PCR, microarrays, etc. The kits contain a Urine Concentration and Preservation Device which allows for rapid and simple urine concentration without the use of centrifugation, as well as preservation of DNA/RNA/proteins in urine samples at ambient temperature. This simplifies the transportation of specimens from the clinic or field (resource limited areas) to the lab, as there is no requirement for refrigeration or freezing. The urine DNA, RNA and proteins in preserved samples are stable for a year at room temperature. The provided Urine Preservative also prevents the growth of bacteria and fungi and inactivates viruses, thus collected urine specimens can be safely shipped concentrated (50X) at ambient temperature.

A unique feature of this Urine Concentration and Preservation Device is that it also allows for the isolation of DNA, RNA, miRNA, proteins without the use of centrifugation and therefore can be used in the field in a resource limited setting. The ability to easily concentrate and ship urine at room temperature is especially attractive for self administered urine specimen collection, concentration and preservation. The availability of this device will make it possible to conduct various population studies, including studies on sexually transmitted infections.

We have also made our Urine Preservative available to researchers in both liquid format and dried format in various sized tubes to allow the collection of urine in any amount suitable for any assay. This will enable customers to have a one stop shop for all urine preservation and transport.
“Our mission is to bring to market innovative Best-in-Class sample preparation kits that can be used in research as well as in diagnostic applications. Indeed, we have been diligently working on adopting these cutting edge sample preparation tools to develop First-In-Class non-invasive point-of-care diagnostic kits” Said Dr. Yousef Haj-Ahmad, President & CEO of Norgen Biotek. 

“The transition of our powerful NA isolation technology into diagnostics is a natural extension for us. The quality of a diagnostic kit is only as good as the quality of the sample, and as leaders in sample preparation we are in an ideal position to make this transition.” said Dr. Haj-Ahmad, President & CEO of Norgen Biotek. “We make best-in-class kits for the isolation of high quality RNA, DNA and proteins from urine, and therefore we extended our expertise and developed our new line of urine-based diagnostic kits for the detection of human pathogens that are traditionally detected in blood or plasma. These kits will become invaluable tools for non-invasive urine-based diagnostics” added Dr. Haj-Ahmad.