The Agencourt SPRI (Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization) technology is a patented purification technology developed at MIT's Whitehead Institute (Hawkins, et. al., Nucleic Acids Res. 1995 (23): 4742-4743). It is a simple and highly efficient means of microplate-based nucleic acid isolation used extensively in the Human Genome Project. Nucleic acids are immobilized onto paramagnetic microparticles using specific buffer conditions. Flexibility is added to the system through modification of the binding buffer, which alters the type and size of immobilized nucleic acid. Sample contaminants are easily removed without the need for labor-intensive centrifugation or filtration, thus creating an automation-friendly format.

The Agencourt SPRI Technology offers:

  • Superior purification
  • Automation-friendly formats
  • Scalable
  • Complete walk away solution
  • No organic solvents
  • No centrifugation or vacuum filtration1
  • Higher yields than column-based methods



Superior Microparticles — Superior Purifications
The superior performance of SPRI technology is the result of the unique properties of the chemistry and Seradyn's highly-engineered Sera-Mag microparticles used in SPRI-based reagent systems. The key features that lead to superior purification and overcome the limitations of silica-based systems are:
  • Paramagnetic microparticles - Easily automated with no centrifugation or filtration
  • Uniform bead size - Highly reproducible results
  • Negatively charged surface - Elution with aqueous solutions without the use chaotropic salts
  • Non-styrene polymer surface - Low non-specific binding
  • High surface area to mass ratio - Increased binding capacity
  • Fast magnetic response time - Rapid purifications
  • Size Optimized Particles - Low settling rates for automation applications

SPRI is an integral component of our genomic services workflow and was key in allowing us to fully automate every step within our pipeline.

1. Excludes the Agencourt CosMCPrep® system.