With advances in molecular diagnostics, life science, and forensics, there will be a vast increase in demand for instrumentation that can handle automated sample preparation within a closed format to eliminate cross-contamination. Other applications of this USPM include environmental monitoring, agriculture, and food production safety. According to Frost and Sullivan's U.S. Nucleic Acid Isolation Markets Report, the instrumentation segment of the nucleic acid preparation market reported revenues of $60.6 million in 2004, and is expected to reach $133.8 million by 2011.
The ability to carry out sample preparation using a small footprint device in a completely enclosed format will allow numerous molecular tests to be carried out in space. Example applications include microbial detection in advanced life support systems, in-vitro testing for infectious diseases during space flight, gene expression analysis for radiation exposure monitoring/studies, and effect of space flight on microbial gene expression and virulence. The USPM can be easily coupled with suitable downstream detection modules to expand its capability.
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