BANGALORE: Dr Fathima J Benazir, Co-founder and CEO, azooka life sciences, on March 02, 2016, announced the discovery of tinto rang, a patent pending, food grade nucleic acid gel stain at the Satish Dhawan auditorium, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru to an audience of scientists.
“The focus of azooka is to develop safe DNA/RNA fluorescent stains for applications in Biological sciences and Genomics. tinto rang is the first ever food grade nucleic acid gel stain making it the safest option currently available in the world” mentioned Dr Fathima who has completed her postdoctoral research from the IISc recently.
“We are thrilled with this much needed discovery. tinto rang stains in 30 seconds while SYBR Gold takes 10 minutes. It is also 7 times more sensitive than Ethidium Bromide, making it the world’s safest and fastest DNA/RNA stain. The best property of tinto rang is that it doesn’t alter the structure of the DNA and can be used for multiple tests” said Prof H S Savithri, whose advice played a crucial role in the research activities of azooka.
“tinto rang, will be available for researchers and businesses in molecular diagnosis space in India by second quarter of , 2016″ said Alex D Paul, Cofounder and President. He further added “We are ready with a global plan for tinto rang, to be made available in key markets via select distributors and partners by the fourth quarter of 2016
What will the impact be possibly?
Researchers in DNA analysis, DNA forensics and Genomic labs are constantly exposed to toxic and carcinogenic nucleic acid stains. The currently available nucleic acid stains are synthetic and are known to cause mutations and adversely affect health. They alter the structure of the DNA due to their strong interactions. The improper disposal of these stains causes environmental and aquatic hazards. Although several handling and safety practices are followed, the exposure to these chemicals becomes inevitable during their long term use.
tinto rang would be safe even on consumption as it is a food additive and thereby would play a significant role in protecting the scientific community from exposure to carcinogens and mutagens. The production and easy availability of a safe nucleic acid stain in India will have direct impact on the cost of molecular diagnostics, by eliminating import and excise duties. In addition it will also cut down handling and disposal costs. Further it will help build an ecosystem for assay kit and master mix kit manufacturers.
