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Research paper−1−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.4 No.1 pp.1-8 (Sept. 2011) existing elemental technologies are often used commonly in different genetic analysis technologies. The relationship is shown schematically in Fig. 1. For example, the “synthetic DNA” that binds to the target gene and the “labeling reagent” used for highly sensitive gene detection are representative elemental technologies used commonly in many genetic analyses. Many researches are conducted to develop some novel core technology with much funds. However, some new problems might occur in the conventional technologies when they are linked up to the core technology, resulting in the decrease of precision of the whole system. Thinking that improvement and modification of the performance of a technology with high commonality may set off a ripple effect throughout several genetic analysis systems, we turned our attention to the technologies in overlapping fields and reviewed the issues. As a result, we focused on the aforementioned technologies of “synthetic DNA” and “labeling reagent”, and challenged improvement in the precision of the overall genetic analyses. 3 Synthetic DNA linker and labeling reagentFrom the 1990s to present, advanced genetic analysis devices such as the DNA chip (microarray) and next-generation high-speed sequencers have been developed, and these technologies continue to advance as we speak. In most of these analysis systems, the probe DNA (oligonucleotide) that binds sequence-selectively to the target gene is immobilized onto a solid surface of flat plates or microbeads. The immobilization is achieved by the covalent bond between the special chemically modified linker incorporated into the DNA and the reactive groups of the substrate surface (Fig. 2a). The linkers 1 Goal of the researchGenes are the common language in all organisms and viruses, and decoding them to understand their functions is necessary to learn their essence. The technologies for decoding and analyzing genes were built on the accumulation of past researches. For example, the genetic decoding of an individual has recently reached a level where it can be completed within one hour[1], and it is also possible to analyze the massive and complex inter-genetic networks as well as the gene-protein networks[2]. With the development of such highly advanced genetic analysis technology, the genetic information are utilized in wide-ranging aspects of our social lives including medicine, foods, and security, as well as basic research. In the future, this technology is expected to advance even further with the progress in the engineering fields as well as the bioscience fields. At the same time, genetic information is expected to become more closely linked to our lives, and is likely to have greater influence on our society. Therefore, both high precision and high performance are required in the genetic analysis technology. However, it is not necessarily true that all elemental technologies integrated in genetic analyses have advanced to the same level as the evolving analysis systems with higher functions. Therefore, we focused on the performance of the chemical reagents, which are essential for the genetic analyses, and conducted research to improve the overall precision of the genetic analysis by enhancing the function of the reagents.2 Scenario to realize the goalMost of the genetic analysis methods are organized as a system where several current technologies are integrated around an innovative core technology. Here, parts of the - Process from an original idea to marketing of a chemical product used for life science-Yasuo Komatsu* and Naoshi KojimaBioproduction Research Institute, AIST 2-17-2-1 Tsukisamu-Higashi, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo 062-8517, Japan *E-mail : Original manuscript received February 18, 2010, Revisions received April 6, 2010, Accepted April 6, 2010High performance genetic analysis is an integration of various inter-correlated technologies. Of all the technologies, chemical reagents are indispensible for modifying DNA or RNA, yet the total performance of genetic analysis is sometimes limited by the insufficient capability of reagents. We have developed novel chemical reagents to increase accuracy and sensitivity in genetic analysis. We describe the development process from obtaining the original idea to marketing of the products and discuss important factors in the process.Development of novel chemical reagentsfor reliable genetic analysesKeywords : Gene, genetic analysis, DNA, RNA, immobilization, detection, labeling, amino group[Translation from Synthesiology, Vol.3, No.3, p.223-230 (2010)]

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