Good news for the biotechnology community this week following a joint announcement from TriLink BioTechnologies Inc. and the Lucigen Corporation. Lucigen, renowned for their problem-solving approach to molecular biology, particularly in rationalising genomics research, have signed a licensing agreement with leading modified nucleic experts Trilink, to use TriLink's CleanAmpTM dNTPs in their new Taq98TM Hot Start 2X  MasterMix.

The agreement means that customers will now benefit from Lucigen's proven expertise for cost-effective, robust PCR, alongside the advantages of a Hot Start reaction, created by replacing standard assay dNTPs with TriLink's CleanAmpTM dNTPs.

The Taq98TM Hot Start 2X MasterMix's aim is to reduce primer dimer formation, mis-priming and other common off-target effects in PCR. It will be particularly useful for those seeking to amplify difficult DNA templates, specifically those targets with a guanine/cytosine base pair content greater than 70%.

In science it is always reassuring to find sensible co-operation working towards a better research environment for the whole community, so full marks to Lucigen and Trilink for the Taq98TM Hot Start 2X MasterMix, which should be with you from the middle of August 2011.