miRCURY LNA miRNA Probe Assay

From QIAGEN, this qPCR assay belongs to the miRCURY LNA miRNA Probe PCR Assays family, developed for extremely sensitive and specific probe-based quantification of mature miRNAs by real-time PCR. Each predesigned assay is supplied as a complete, premixed reagent containing an LNA-enhanced, target-specific forward primer together with a miRNA-specific hydrolysis probe labelled with a FAM reporter and dark quencher, intended for RNA expression applications.

Sensitivity is achieved through a combination of universal reverse transcription with T_m-normalised, LNA-enhanced primers and probe, enabling accurate quantification from as little as 1 pg total RNA or down to 1 molecule without pre-amplification. The chemistry allows detection of down to 1 miRNA copy and discrimination between closely related miRNAs whose sequences differ by as little as one nucleotide. More than 30,000 assays are available covering all miRNAs in miRBase 22, of which over 1,000 have been fully wet-bench validated for sensitivity, specificity, efficiency and background. Assay designs are evaluated across 60 parameters and validated in silico against stringent performance criteria.

The simplified workflow is completed in approximately 2 hours, with minimal pipetting steps, room-temperature setup and ISO-compliant assay manufacturing for high day-to-day and site-to-site reproducibility. Detection relies on the QuantiNova Probe Master Mix and the miRCURY Probe Universal Reverse Primer, used as part of the miRCURY LNA miRNA Probe PCR System. Quality control of RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis and PCR amplification is supported by the accompanying RNA Spike-In Kit.