Porvair Sciences has developed a new ChIP sequencing assay kit extending the benefits of their proprietary Chromatrap® solid state ChIP technology to preparation of purified Chromatin for the generation of sequencing libraries.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a technique used to detect interactions between proteins and DNA, and is based on the enrichment of DNA associated with a specific protein of interest. Combining ChIP with massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) allows the accurate survey of interactions between proteins and DNA, enabling the study of epigenetic marks which is essential for a full understanding of transcriptional regulation of genes. A precise and detailed map of protein interactions with DNA is vital for interpreting regulatory networks that underlie many biological processes and disease states, including cancer. Recent advances have identified that that the interplay between chromatin and transcription is much more dynamic and complex than initially anticipated. Previous technology using microarrays were limited by the number of unique species-specific oligonucleotide probes that could be hybridised to the chip surface. Next generation sequencing has the ability to sequence tens or hundreds of millions of short DNA fragments simultaneously, without being hybridised to an array. With single-base pair resolution, fewer artefacts, greater coverage and a larger dynamic range, ChIP-seq offers significant advantages over past technology and experiments which could only be imagined a few years ago are now becoming a reality.

Chromatrap® is a new quicker, easier and more efficient way of performing ChIP-seq assays (Patent No. GB2482209). It uses discs of an inert, porous polymer to which Protein A or Protein G has been covalently attached to maximise the capture efficiency of the target chromatin/antibody complex. Chromatrap utilises the solid state technology in parallel with high throughput sequencing to deliver a precise ChIP-seq protocol from small cell numbers and chromatin concentrations. Specifically adapted for greater chromatin concentrations, Chromatrap ChIP-seq now combines the dynamic range of Chromatrap with the downstream analysis power of deep sequencing, allowing the genome wide identification of transcription factor binding sites and specific DNA associated protein modifications with no limitation in scale and resolution. 

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