STAR Q Swab AS Instrument

The STAR Q Swab AS Instrument automates sample pre-treatment and STR assay setup from human identity reference samples on swabs (e.g., database samples and paternity samples). The instrument is designed to work with all commonly used swab types and has pre-validated protocols for all Investigator STR GO! Kits (Investigator 24plex GO! Kit, Investigator ESSplex SE GO! Kit and Investigator IDplex GO! Kit). The STAR Q Swab AS combines QIAGEN’s expertise in performance and process safety with high-throughput liquid handling to enable processing of up to 384 samples per day with no compromise in quality.

The STAR Q Swab AS is a high-throughput (HTP) liquid handling platform designed for assay setup for downstream PCR analysis of human identity samples. The system is designed for processing reference samples in the form of buccal swabs and blood swabs and is compatible with most commonly used swab types (GE Healthcare Omni swabs, Sarstedt cotton swabs, Copan flocked swabs and Puritan polyester swabs).
The instrument uses dedicated Investigator GO! direct amplification chemistry for PCR setup and downstream STR analysis of samples. QIAGEN’s unique Quality Sensor makes sure that any sample failing to give optimal results in the first time round will be reprocessed – with the most appropriate rework strategy – to maximize your success rates and minimize your laboratory’s costs.
Outperforming most other HTP liquid handling systems, the STAR Q Swab AS comes with pre-validated protocols for sample pre-treatment and assay setup, so implementation is kept to a minimum.

The STAR Q Swab AS comes ready to run, with all protocols pre-installed and fully validated. Our experienced application specialists will manage installation and training for you and ensure that the system is quickly up and running.
Swabs are placed into a 96-deep-well plate, which is loaded together with reagents and consumables onto the STAR Q Swab AS. The instrument performs safety checks and bar code scans and then adds a swab lysis buffer and carries out a brief pre-treatment step involving heating and shaking of the sample tubes. An aliquot of each sample is then removed and added to PCR tubes for STR PCR setup.
All protocols and other system functions are selected and controlled using a simple-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI).