Luminex Corporation Launches xPONENT(TM) Software and MagPlex(TM) Magnetic Microspheres
AUSTIN, Texas, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Luminex Corporation introduces two new key products — xPONENT, a new, more intuitive software interface which simplifies the user experience, and MagPlex microspheres, which add a magnetic component to the company’s core xMAP microsphere technology, enabling use on automation equipment. xPONENT and MagPlex will enhance both ease-of-use and automation capabilities expanding xMAP functionality in the company’s core market segments.
Luminex’s xPONENT Software was developed with experts in human factors and ergonomic design. Customer-centric development and extensive field testing with customers has resulted in a user experience which is a significant step forward in the market place. The software suite incorporates over 300 new features all designed to simplify laboratory workflow and increase productivity. New features include enhanced security (21 CFR Part 11 compliance and electronic signatures), integration capabilities that allow users to transmit and receive data from Laboratory Information Systems (LIS/LIMS), integration with the most popular automated sample preparation systems, the ability to run magnetic bead applications and touch-screen capability.
xPONENT will be sold on new Luminex systems and will be available as an upgrade to the over 4100 existing Luminex 100 and 200 systems in the marketplace.
Luminex’s MagPlex Microspheres feature super-paramagnetic properties that make them ideal for running automated xMAP-based assays. These microspheres can be moved or held in place by a magnetic field. Many automated sample preparation systems utilize magnetic properties to automate the sample preparation steps in an assay. Automating sample testing using MagPlex microspheres on a robotic sample preparation system will minimize hands-on technician time, improve precision, and streamline workflow.
Gregory J. Gosch, vice president of marketing and sales at Luminex, said, “Ease-of-use and automation are very important product criteria for customers in our targeted market segments, particularly those in high-volume testing laboratories. We believe the automation capabilities offered by our MagPlex microspheres and the intuitive design of our xPONENT software are significant advances in automation and ease-of-use for both Luminex and multiplexing technologies in general.”
Luminex’s xMAP multiplexing technology allows researchers to perform numerous tests simultaneously for detection of gene sequences, protein interactions and other biological reactions, which are read in a compact analyzer. xMAP provides significant efficiencies versus traditional methods which require performing one test at a time.
About Luminex
Luminex Corporation develops, manufactures and markets proprietary biological testing technologies with applications throughout the life sciences industry. The Company’s xMAP(R) system is an open-architecture, multi-analyte technology platform that delivers fast, accurate and cost-effective bioassay results to markets as diverse as pharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and biomedical research, including the genomics and proteomics research markets. The Company’s xMAP technology is sold worldwide and is already in use in leading research laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies. Luminex’s xMAP technology received the 2005 Clinical Diagnostics Technology of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan. The Company was named in the 2005 Deloitte Fast 500 of fastest-growing technology companies. Further information on Luminex Corporation or xMAP can be obtained on the Internet
at http://www.luminexcorp.com.
