New DuraClone RE Antibody Panels Are a Milestone in Rare Event Detection

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences has taken the detection of rare, abnormal events in blood disorders a step forward with the introduction of advanced and highly discriminative antibody panels. The DuraClone RE antibody panels provide tools to study low frequency populations of either abnormal CD5+ B cells (RE CLB), abnormal plasma cells (RE PC) or abnormal B progenitor cells (RE ALB).
 
The three new standardized, pre-formulated DuraClone RE kits deliver high sensitivity for rare cell populations, able to accommodate either large sample volumes or high cellular concentrations. Using dry, unitized antibody combinations helps preserve the strict assay conditions essential for reliable, reproducible rare event analysis.
 
The DuraClone family of dry reagents simplifies sample preparation and handling. The panels eliminate errors from manual antibody pipetting, streamline workflow, improve turnaround time (TAT) and simplify inventory management. The kits are stable at room temperature, even when opened, and easy to transfer between laboratories. The first Duraclone standardized dry, pre-formulated panels were introduced in 2014, to support research into the human immune system.  Since then, the company has added DuraClone IM and IF panels for investigating immune profiles and function. 
 
“Research of rare abnormal cells associated with blood disorders is powerful, yet challenging to perform,” explained Mario Koksch, vice president and general manager of Beckman Coulter’s Cytometry Business Unit.
 
“Beckman Coulter is recognized for the quality of its reagents; and we recognize that preserving strict assay conditions is integral to rare event analysis. This has led to the development of our next- generation DuraClone RE kits, produced in collaboration with experts from leading clinical research laboratories. They told us that streamlined workflow and standardization of results were essential to the experimental robustness of their longitudinal and multi-centric research into blood disorders.”
 
Internationally-recognized scientist Prof. Karl-Anton Kreuzer, from Germany’s Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO) in Cologne, Germany, believes the DuraClone RE CLB panels will significantly simplify rare event analysis in the clinical research lab. Kreuzer recently carried out a trial using the kits and commented, “The inclusion of ROR-1 as a new discriminative marker has markedly facilitated the screening for low frequencies of abnormal B cells.”
 
Further, Prof. Lutz Uharek, from the Stem Cell Facility at Charité, Germany, explained, “Our work in clinical research is focused on novel cellular and immune approaches to target blood cell disorders. To drive this further, we found the DuraClone Panels provided a sensitive, analytically reliable and economic tool for the detection of minute, abnormal, plasma cell populations.” 
 
DuraClone RE antibody panels are available in a 25-test package containing three complete compensation kits specific for each panel. They offer the flexibility of additional antibody drop-in slots, making it possible to answer a customer’s specific questions. Further additions to the DuraClone product family are in development, including dry stimulation cocktails for functional assays.
 
Beckman Coulter Life Sciences delivers instrument systems, reagents and services to life science researchers in academic and commercial laboratories, enabling new discoveries in biology-based research and development. A leader in centrifugation and flow cytometry, Beckman Coulter has long developed life sciences instruments and solutions used at the forefront of important areas of investigation, including genomics and proteomics.