LabChip® Service

We offer a LabChip® Service for the quality and quantification assessment of DNA and RNA samples.

Login or register to use our services.

The Massey Genome Service (MGS) is now offering our LabChip® Service for the quality and quantification assessment of DNA and RNA samples. It is a very valuable tool for assessing the quality of your DNA and RNA samples before proceeding with expensive Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), Microarray and Gene Expression experiments.

LabChip machine

The PerkinElmer LabChip® GX Touch HT instrument is a high throughput microfluidic-based electrophoresis platform for the quality and quantification analysis of DNA and RNA. It is designed to deliver high quality digital data from very small amounts of sample.

Prices and types of LabChip services offered

Details of the LabChip Services offered are listed in the table below.

Table showing LabChip services offered by the Massey Genome Service, including sample type, product size range, sample numbers, price and other technical details.
LabChip® Service Type Sample Type Product Size Range Maximum Samples per LabChip®
Prep
Price till 1 March 2024# Price from 1 March 2024# Concentration range of sample
Genomic DNA LabChip® Assay Genomic DNA PCR products
Plasmids
50 – 40,000+ bp 48 samples $8.50 per sample $8.50 per sample 0.2 – 5 ng/μL
RNA Standard LabChip® Assay* Eukaryote & Prokaryote
Total RNA & mRNA
100 – 6,000 nt 48 samples $9.50 per sample $9.50 per sample 25 – 250 ng/μL (Standard Sensitivity)

# All prices exclude GST and are in New Zealand dollars

MGS could check you libraries using Bioanalyzer instrument. Please contact us for price enquiry.

RNA Standard LabChip® assay

The RNA Standard LabChip® assay generates RNA metrics such as:

  • peak heights
  • peak areas
  • concentration.

These are used to determine an RQS (RNA Quality Score) number for each sample. The RQS has been validated to correlate well with Agilent’s RIN (RNA Integrity Number) and follows the same 0-10 scale rating. The detection RNA concentration is as low as 250 pg/µL.

An RNA control sample is run on each RNA LabChip (UHR Total RNA – Stratagene Cat. #740000-41).

For customers in Palmerston North please contact Xiaoxiao Lin to arrange shipment of your RNA.

Genomic DNA LabChip® assay

The Genomic DNA LabChip® assay provides a fast and consistent digital genomic DNA quality score (GQS) enabling, an immediate determination of sample degradation and size distribution can be made.

The GQS ranges from 0 to 5, with 5 representing the highest quality. The reproducibility, compatibility with automation, and throughput of the Genomic DNA assay overcomes the limitations of gel-based methods for qualitative sizing and assessment of degradation of DNA samples.

Turnaround times

The guaranteed turnaround time from the Massey Genome Service receiving your samples to the customer receiving the results is a maximum of 5 working days.

Genome DNA samples will be processed every Monday and RNA samples will be processed every Tuesday. Please submit the samples before 12pm on Monday or Tuesday. In the event of public holiday falling on Monday or Tuesday, the samples will be processed after the holiday.

If urgent processing of samples is required, please contact Xiaoxiao Lin.

Sample submission

Follow these step by step instructions for submitting online requests to the Massey Genome Service (MGS) for the LabChip® Service.

1, Login or register

You will need to register if you are a new customer and have not yet registered with the Massey Genome Service. You will be asked to create your own username and password, which you will use each time you submit an online request for the LabChip® GX Touch HT service. You will also be asked to supply other information, such as your name, results address, invoicing address, and other contact details.

2, Submit your online request

Once you have registered you can login and submit an online request. Enter your username and password then click submit.

3, Select the service

From the Massey Genome Service Main Menu select ‘3. Request LabChip® GX Touch HT Service.' The online request form will come up on the screen.

4, Fill in the ‘Account/order number’

Fill in the account or order number this request is to be charged to. For internal Massey customers, where work is being charged to School of Natural Sciences (SNS) accounts, please supply an account number.

For external customers please supply an order number.

5, Fill in the ‘Customer Notes’

If you have any additional information the Massey Genome Service needs to know about this request submission fill in the customer notes. If you do not have any additional information that we need for this request submission do not fill this in.

6, Fill in the columns in the ‘Table’

Sample Tube No. /Well No

Please supply samples in 1.5 mL or 0.5 mL tubes if ≤ 24 samples, or in a 96 well semi-skirted plate if >24 samples. If supplying samples in a 96 well plate, please place the sample in the following order in the plate and in the sample submission form: A01 to A12, B01 to B12, C01 to C12, and so on up to H01 to H12.

Sample Name

The name for identifying the sample used.

Product size (bp)

This is the total size of your sample in base pairs (bp).

Volume of sample supplied (µL)

The minimum volume required per sample is 25 µL for LabChip DNA assay and 2 µL for LabChip RNA assay.

Estimate of concentration (ng/µl)

Quantify samples using fluorometer before sending to the MGS.

7, Fill in the ‘LabChip® Assay Type’

Select one option for the ‘Pull-down Menu’. MGS offers the following LabChip® assays:

  • Genomic DNA LabChip® Assay
  • RNA Standard LabChip® Assay

8, Fill in the ‘Nucleic Acid Type’

Select one option for the ‘Pull-down Menu’.

9, Submit your request

Submit your online request for the LabChip® GX Touch HT service. This online request will come through to the MGS server.

10, Print your request form to send with your samples

Once you have clicked on Submit the submitted online request form will come up on the screen. Print this submitted request form in landscape format, sign it, and send to us with your samples. The printout of the submitted request form is needed for sample identification.

Conditions of samples

BSA and detergents exceeding 0.05 mg/mL and 0.01% (v/v) respectively in concentration should not be used. Higher concentrations can result in chip failure. In addition, non-aqueous solvents are not compatible with DNA LabChip® protocols.

Total salt concentration must not exceed 10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA. Higher salt concentrations and different ions may alter performance and reduce assay sensitivity.

Delivery of samples

Please send your DNA and RNA samples by overnight courier to:

Massey University
School of Natural Sciences (SNS)
Inward Goods
Science Tower A1.19
Columbo Road
Palmerston North 4410
ATTN: Massey Genome Service

Send DNA sample on icepacks and RNA sample on dry ice. Internal customers and external customers who are working close to Massey are welcome to hand deliver samples. The Massey Genome Service does not accept international sample deliveries for the LabChip® Service.

Results delivery

LabChip® Service results will be sent to you through the Massey Genome Service server. You will get an email notification when the results are ready to download.

You will get a PDF report containing electropherogram and gel image of each of your samples. You will get a .gxd file which you can open using the LabChip GX Reviewer software.

Download the user manual below.

Data analysis and controls

RNA quality score (RQS)

The LabChip GX for RNA analysis:

  • Provides single number rating of RNA quality that can qualify RNA samples prior to use in gene expression studies
  • RQS correlates well to Agilent’s RIN
  • Typically <10% deviation from RIN for the same sample run on Bioanalyzer and GX
  • RQS is consistent over whole concentration range (25 to 250 ng/µL)
  • RQS is consistent for RNA samples collected from a wide variety of different tissues
  • RQS is consistent for RNA that may have degraded by different mechanisms
  • RQS reproducibility: CV < 20% over whole concentration range and wide range of degradation

Genomic DNA Quality Score (GQS)

The Genomic DNA LabChip® Assay for the PerkinElmer LabChip® GX Touch HT instrument is a fast and reproducible alternative to agarose gel electrophoresis.

The kit allows analysis of DNA larger than 40 Kb and utilises a Genomic DNA Quality Score (GQS). The GQS) is derived from the size distribution of the gDNA; this score ranging from 0 to 5, and the sample concentration are reported by the software.

This score represents the degree of degradation of a sample, with 5 corresponding to intact gDNA and 0 corresponding to highly degraded gDNA, and is calculated from the size distribution of a sample.

Figure 1: An electropherogram and gel view of intact and degraded genomic DNA from BioChain is shown in Figure 16. Genomic DNA was degraded by incubating with Fragmentase® for 10 or 20 minutes. Genomic DNA treated for 10 minutes was partially degraded (GQS = 2.5), while genomic DNA treated for 20 minutes was highly degraded (GQS = 0).

Diagram showing intact and degraded genomic DNA from BioChain.

An electropherogram and gel view of intact and degraded genomic DNA from BioChain. Genomic DNA was degraded by incubating with Fragmentase® for 10 or 20 minutes. Genomic DNA treated for 10 minutes was partially degraded (GQS = 2.5),

Control samples

MGS uses ladder from reagent kit as control samples on each LabChip run.

Contact us

Xiaoxiao Lin

Laboratory/QA Manager

Massey Genome Service

Office phone

+64 6 951 9080 (external)

Extension 86080 (internal customers)

Laboratory phone

+64 6 951 8735 (external)

Extension 85735 (internal customers)

Location

Physical address
Massey Genome Service
School of Natural Sciences
Room ScD3.15A, Riddet Road
Massey University
Turitea Campus
Palmerston North 4410
New Zealand

Postal address
Massey Genome Service
Massey University
Private Bag 11-222
Palmerston North 4442
New Zealand

Courier address
Massey Genome Service
School of Natural Sciences
Inward Goods
Science Tower A, Level 1,
Columbo Road, Massey University
Palmerston North 4410
New Zealand