Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT)

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During pregnancy, fragments of the baby's DNA circulate in the mother's blood stream. By measuring the number of these DNA fragments, the number of chromosome 21, 18 and 13 copies can be determined. Thus, trisomy 21, 18 or 13 can be detected in the baby. The blood sample should be collected at a minimal gestational age of 11 weeks to ensure a sufficient amount of the baby’s DNA circulating in the mother’s blood.The NIPT has a sensitivity of more than 99%, which means that more than 99 out of 100 babies with trisomy 21, 18 and 13 will be detected by this test, while 1 or fewer will be missed. For 1% the NIPT will lead to a false positive result. This means that when 100 women take the test, 1 of them will be told that there is an increased risk of trisomy 21, even though her baby does not have trisomy 21.

For more information about NIPT, please see our information leaflet in the download section or contact us.

NIPT Leaflet

Maternal blood is collected in Streck Cell-Free DNA BCT tubes and cell free DNA (cfDNA) is isolated from the plasma fraction. The isolated cfDNA consists of both maternal as fetal DNA fragments.

The 3' and 5' overhangs of the cfDNA are blunt ended by resp. a 3' exonuclease and a DNA polymerase, followed by 5' adenylation (polynucleotide kinase) in order to generate a substrate for the adapter ligation.

Next, a PCR amplification step is performed to generate sufficient yield for Massive Parallel Sequencing (MPS). More information is available through the buttons below.

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Sample types

Blood > cfDNA/ctDNA

Streck Cell-Free DNA BCT

9 ml

Room temperature

Plasma > cfDNA/ctDNA

DNA LoBind 5 ml tube

> 2ml

Dry ice

Extra requirements

Minimum DNA concentration

DNA tube & plate - Diagnostic

Minimum: 0,1 ng/µl

A minimum concentration of 0,1 ng/µl is required, however succesfull experiments are possible below this limit.

Minimum DNA quantity

DNA tube & plate - Diagnostic

Minimum: 2 ng

Below 2 ng of input, the amount of genome equivalents is low and success can't be guaranteed.

Sample types

Deliverables

Below, you can find the type of data files that can be retrieved for this test.

If you require more information or need a more custom output, please consult our Bioinformatics page.

Bioinformatics

Clinical report

Diagnostic report generated by Clinical Geneticist/ Pathologist / Hematologist

Diagnostic

Raw data - bam file

Binary data file containing the aligned reads

RUO (on request)

Raw data - fastq file

Data file containing the raw (unaligned) reads

RUO (on request)

Deliverables

Costs

Below, you can find indicative prices (excl. VAT) for all potential options you'd require to accomplish your project. If you are interested, please contact us to receive a tailored quotation.

Request quote

Update pending

Our prices are being updated. More info soon.

Costs

Documents & certificates

141-MED (UZ Brussel)

141-TEST (BRIGHTcore)

Documents

Plan Experiment

Plan experiment

For Diagnostics

This test is mainly performed as a diagnostic assay. In this case, please contact your General Practitioner or Clinical Geneticist (Centre for Medical Genetics of choice) to get the diagnosis started.

For Research

This test can also be applied in context of research. For this, please get approval from your local ethical committee and/or make proper arrangements with your Biobank.

Please follow the steps below to start up an experiment with us.

Get in touch (ONLY FOR NEW PROJECTS)

Explain your project, so we can assist you to find the best solution.

Expect questions like :

What type of sample would you like to analyze?
Which elution buffer did you use?
What are the expected concentrations of your samples?
How many samples would you like to process?
How fast do you need the results (TAT) and/or do we need to expedite?
If you deviate from our sample types, are there test samples available?
Are our standard deliverables ok?
...

1

Start here

Request quotation

Once you know which experiment you want to set up, fill out the 'Quote request' form, with the essential details of your project :

Coordinates of the person to whom to address the quotation
Which type of test you'd like to set up
Do you require a specific deliverable?
Do we need to expedite (comes at extra cost)?
...

2

Quotation

Submit your samples

Once you agree with our terms (quote / TAT / terms & conditions) :

Fill out our sample submission form
Send it via email : contact us
Print out the form and include it with your samples
Send your samples to us
Label your tubes/plates correctly : see details here
Adhere to the corresponding transport conditions listed under Sample types
Indicate if we can discard your samples after completion of project

3

Submission form

Your experiment starts

Now it is up to us... We will start your experiment as soon as possible.

When expedited, the turn-around-time (TAT) is 1 month
For standard requests the turn-around-time (TAT) is 2 months

The standard TAT is generally overestimated, but this extended timeframe allows us to : combine similar requests of multiple scientists and to repeat the experiment in case of issues.

Please refrain from contacting us in case the pre-agreed TAT didn't expire yet.