Story Time with Dr. Tam Yew Joon

Dr. Joon, please tell us what your company does.

Biogenes Technologies is a Malaysian-based start-up in the field of molecular diagnostics and genomics providing cutting-edge solutions, products and services to customers from both research and commercial sector through extensive collaboration with research universities and institutions to develop commercial-driven offerings for industries. Our platform technologies include printed nano-coated sensors, immobilisation of DNA probes and aptamers (synthetic antibodies), as well as in-silico design and validation of new aptamers.

How did you source oligos before you installed Kilobaser?

Before the installation of Kilobaser, our oligos are usually bought from commercial companies that provide oligo synthesis services.

What was the issue with your previous process?

One of the major challenges in sourcing for oligos commercially is in the delivery time. As a company that works on strict timelines determined through our collaborations, waiting for the oligos to be delivered is always a stressful matter. Typically, a minimum of 2 weeks delivery time is usually needed for the oligos to arrive. With such a delivery period, a significant delay is often encountered during the optimization and validation process which sometimes require a few re-syntheses of the oligos.

Another challenge faced is confidentiality. The design of oligos involves a lot of intellectual properties which are not to be made public. Hence, this issue has always been a critical factor to be considered whenever we engage commercial suppliers for our DNA synthesis.

Why did you choose Kilobaser?

To us, the use of Kilobaser offers several advantages in overcoming the challenges mentioned. Having a unit in our very own lab allows the quick on-the-spot synthesis of the oligos, which saves us a significant amount of time and since again the synthesis is done in our lab, confidential information in regards to the oligos is preserved.

What specifically do you use Kilobaser for, and how does it fit into your workflows?

For many of our projects especially ones that involve the use of aptamers, Kilobaser is primarily used in the synthesis of these aptamers after the design stage. After the synthesis, the aptamers are then used for research and development for further optimization, evaluation and validation. In the near future, the Kilobaser will also be incorporated into our APTLAB, which is a centre that offers immediate oligos synthesis service that allows users to choose the type of oligos they want from our readily available library and synthesize them.

What is the benefit of Kilobaser for you?

The Kilobaser offers ease and simplicity in attaining oligos which are needed for our projects.

How would you improve Kilobaser?

As of the current unit that we have, the synthesis of the oligos is in an unpurified form and limited quantities per synthesis. Possible incorporation of a purification step and an increase in the quantity of synthesis would certainly be an appreciated improvement.

Anything else you want to tell us?

Kilobaser is certainly a game-changer in the world of oligo synthesis and we are proud to be a part of this revolutionary journey.

We say THANK YOU for this great and honest interview and for your feedback, Dr. Joon. We wish you continuing success in your work and research!

If you too would like to tell us your story, please feel free to send us an email to [email protected]