COL32524-TaqMan-showcase

The latest version of our TaqMan Assay search tool allows you to search more than 20 million professionally designed assay and array products backed by the TaqMan performance guarantee.  The new features of the tool include the latest and most relevant publications associated with each assay. Below you will find a quick overview of how to navigate the search tool and find the right solution for your research. TaqMan Assays are consistently used as a trusted source, generating over 40,000 publications—3X more than any other 5’ nuclease assay.

The TaqMan Assay search tool includes assays and arrays for the following applications:

  • Gene expression
  • SNP genotyping
  • Copy number
  • miRNA
  • Mutation detection


TaqMan Assay Search Tool


Help using the tool

How do I search for TaqMan assays and arrays?

Simplest way to search

  1. Start at the Thermo Fisher homepage (www.thermofisher.com)
  2. Select TaqMan Assays from the search dropdown at the top of the page; enter your target, gene, or pathway; and search.
  3. Select a result set under the desired assay/array type (if the search term applied to multiple types) (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Figure 1. A search result like the one shown above will be displayed if the search term applies to multiple assay/array types. The number of relevant assays or arrays will be displayed below the type and will link to the search result set for that type.

    4. If desired, refine your search with filters (species, assay attributes, and more) (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Figure 2. Available filters for TaqMan Gene Expression assays.


Searching multiple targets

If you are looking for multiple assays for a project or are creating a list of assays to include on an array, you can search multiple targets at once:

  1. After carrying out a search, click Build a Search to the right of the search box found at the top of the search result page (or use the search tool above).
  2. Click  Enter multiple targets.
  3. Enter keywords separated by a comma or a return, and then search.  Supported keyword types for a multiple target search vary depending on assay type.  You can also choose to upload a list of keywords.
  4. The top assay result for each target searched will be displayed.  To see the full results, click Show more for each keyword.
  5. To navigate to a particular keyword of interest, click the blue keyword links above the search results that show the keywords that were searched and the number of results found for each keyword.
Multiple targets
Figure 3. Example of a multiple target search result.


Search by sequence

For gene expression assays and microRNA assays, you can enter a target sequence to find predesigned assays that map to that sequence:

  1. After carrying out a search, select Gene Expression or miRNA in the dropdown menu to the left of the search box found at the top of the search result page and then click Build a Search to the right of the search box (or use the search tool above).
  2. Click Enter target sequence. (Note: For gene expression assays, you will need to first select a single species for this option to appear.)
  3. Enter the sequence that you would like the assay to detect, and then search.  You also have the option to search multiple sequences at once.  For this option, a name is required to match the input sequence to search results.


Search by chromosome position

For SNP genotyping and copy number assays, you can enter a chromosome position to find assays that map to that location:

  1. After carrying out a search, select SNP Genotyping or Copy Number in the dropdown menu to the left of the search box found at the top of the search result page and then click Build a Search to the right of the search box (or use the search tool above).
  2. Select a single species, which will activate the Enter chromosome position link.
  3. Click Enter chromosome position and enter the chromosome number, start position, and stop position, and then search.


Searching for qPCR arrays

When searching for TaqMan Arrays, you can search using any of the following types of keywords:

  • Name of the panel (e.g., Human HedgeHog Pathway)
  • Targets in the panel (e.g., GAPDH)
  • Assay IDs in the panel (e.g., Hs99999901_s1)
How do I order TaqMan assays and arrays?

To order a TaqMan Assay, two pieces of information are required:

  1. Catalog number
  2. Assay ID

The catalog number for a TaqMan Assay is sequence-agnostic and defines other attributes of the assay, including:

  • Assay type (e.g., gene expression)
  • Size (e.g., small)
  • Reporter dye (FAM or VIC)
  • Stock type (inventoried or made-to-order)
  • Primer concentration (standard or primer-limited)

The assay ID is a unique identifier for each assay designed either as part of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s comprehensive collection of pre-designed assays or as a custom assay using one of our custom assay design tools.


Finding the assay ID

Use the TaqMan Assay search tool to search for an assay (see "How do I search for TaqMan assays and arrays?").

In the search result, the assay ID is highlighted in bold at the top of the assay result box.  The catalog number is listed directly below and will change if you make changes to the dye or size (Figure 1).

Assay ID
Figure 1.


Reordering an assay

There are multiple ways to reorder an assay:

  1. Assay search: use the TaqMan Assay search tool to search for the assay.  For the most efficient method, search by Assay ID, and then click Add to cart.
  2. Quick order: if you know the assay ID and catalog number, you can enter that information directly into the Quick Order form.  To access this form, go to www.thermofisher.com and click Quick Order at the far upper right of any page (Figure 2).
Reorder assay
Figure 2.
How do I decide which TaqMan Gene Expression Assay is right for me?

We offer many tools to help you decide which gene expression assay is right for you:

  • Best Coverage recommendation
  • Assay Design and Transcript details
  • Important Information
  • Citations
  • Cross Reactivity filter
Figure2-Filter
GAPGH Taqman GE Assays
Figure 1.


Best Coverage recommendation

All TaqMan Assays are designed using our industry-leading bioinformatics design process and meet all of our high quality-control specifications. For any given target, we compare all assays for that target and select a Best Coverage assay for standard gene expression experiments that detects the maximum number of transcripts for the gene of interest. We also evaluate the assays based on the design criteria below with the recommended assay best meeting the criteria.

  • Does not detect gene products with similar sequence (homologs)
  • Is designed across an exon-exon junction
  • Has a short amplicon, giving you a more efficient PCR reaction
  • Does not detect off-target sequences, thus increasing the specificity of your reactions (off-target detection may happen when an assay hybridizes with a sequence that occurs more than once in the genome)
  • Does not map to multiple genes, thus increasing the specificity of your experiment
  • Does not target the 5' untranslated region (UTR). The 5' UTR of transcripts can have variable sequence between transcripts.


Assay Design and Transcript details

For any gene expression assay, information about the assay design and the transcripts it detects is provided.

In the assay result box, Assay Design indicates where the primers and probe are located within the exon structure of the transcript and is updated regularly.  Clicking the link under Assay Design opens the section under "View Details", revealing more details about the Assay Design (Figure 2).

Assay-design-transcript-details
Figure 2.

Clicking the link under Transcripts also opens the View Details section and shows RefSeq accession information for the transcripts detected by the assay.

Citations

You can view the number of publications that cite the assay and a list of those publications in the assay search results (Figure 3).  (For more information, see "How do I see publications for an assay?").  The assay result with the most citations is also marked with a banner.

Citations
Figure 3.

Important Information

Important Information text boxes provide information that you may want to consider in determining which assay is best for your experiment (Figure 4).  Types of information found in these text boxes include:

  • Underlying SNP information
  • When the assay maps to the same target as a gene expression microarray
  • When an assay may detect genomic DNA
Important-info
Figure 4.

Cross Reactivity filter

Filters are always available at the top of the search page to help you refine your search results.  (If you do not see them, click View filters to the right of the search bar). For gene expression results, there are multiple parameters to filter on, including Cross Reactivity.

The Cross Reactivity filter is used to check assays for cross-species reactivity for use in transgenic animal experiments.  When you select a species in the Cross Reactivity filter, the list of results will be updated such that any assays that may cross react with the species selected will be excluded from the results.  Any assays that remain in the list will not exhibit species cross reactivity and thus are suitable to use in a transgenic study.

How do I view related publications for an assay?

You can now see the latest publications for an assay directly in the search results.  For each assay ID, you can find the following publication-related information:

  • Number of citations
  • List of citations with links
  • Rating based on publication data (as calculated by Bioz)
Citations
How do I export search results?

You can export search results by selecting the assays or arrays to be included using the checkboxes (Figure 1) and then opening the Select action dropdown.

checkboxes
Figure 1.

In the Select action dropdown, there are two options for exporting your assay search results:

  1. Email the selected results as an attached csv file
  2. Export the selected results as a tab-delimited text file

The exported files contain detailed information about the assays you have selected.  For example, gene expression assay export files will include the following information for each assay ID selected:

  • Ordering Information (assay ID and catalog number)
  • Availability (inventoried or made-to-order)
  • Gene (gene symbol, gene name, gene alias)
  • RefSeq and GenBank accession numbers
  • Amplicon length

If you are exporting information for TaqMan Array products, you will get an xls file with a tab for each product you selected (identified by catalog number or array ID) and the assay layout information for each array.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.