Laboratory service provider, Genelab, has introduced new state of the art DNA testing capabilities through the acquisition of the Compact Spectrum CE system.

The Compact Spectrum is an automated four-capillary electrophoresis instrument designed for various DNA fragment analyses such as paternity testing and Sanger sequencing.

The facility, an addition to the company’s services, is expected to provide solutions such as forensic tests, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing and paternity test.

The state-of-the-art Promega Spectrum Compact, the first of its kind in West Africa, will provide efficient access to high end molecular biological services.

Speaking to the media in Accra, the Director of GeneLab, Dr Yaw Ofori-Adjei, said the move is an effort to improve health care delivery by making available necessary equipment that could assist in conducting relevant tests.

“We have the aim of being the go to centre, where previously unavailable tests in this country will now be made readily available to individuals to promote health care delivery, especially in terms of the rapid response of test that will take about two to three weeks, sometimes even longer, because the request has to be sent outside the country for analysis to be done,” he said.

He added that Genelab medical professionals saw the delay as a big gab limiting urgent care of patients and, for that matter, has made an effort to invest in the Promega spectrum that is a first of its kind in the sub-region.

“Currently, we should be able to do DNA analysis for forensic, paternity testing or relationships between other individuals and to do this with an accuracy level of 99.9 per cent accuracy,” he said.

On the part of academic knowledge, he said, the compact spectrum will assist in the generation of a broad understanding of diseases to help treat them better.

He was quick to add that his outfit is open to collaborating with any academic or research institution adding that Genelab is interested in producing data that can be relevant for the Ghanaian environment, to better improve the health care system in the country.

"Even with the Covid-19 gene or the viruses that are causing the disease, because of the equipment at hand now, we will be able to learn more about the disease process in our effort to make a stride in health care," he added.

In terms of employment, Dr Ofori-Adjei said the centre will make room to engage Molecular Biologists who previously did not have anywhere to practice.

DNA Paternity Testing at GeneLab

GeneLab, as part of its molecular testing services, has added the testing of biological relationships based on DNA to its core business aside from its other business of Covid-19 testing.

Dr Ofori-Adjei said the laboratory employs the state-of-the-art Capillary Electrophoresis device from the Promega Spectrum Compact CE system in conducting its analysis. This Spectrum Compact CE is the only installation in West Africa.

The laboratory also employs standard cheek cell samples and 27 STR loci markers in its sample analysis, presenting a highly discriminatory test result comparable to any global standard.

GeneLab presents a state of the art solution to the general public who wish to attempt DNA testing for parentage determination, immigration (visa acquisition), academic research and forensic laboratories, mainly in Ghana and across the globe.