Sylphium molecular ecology started in 2012 as a service lab for environmental DNA (eDNA). Since 2018 we offer also a total solution for sampling, isolation and analysis of enviromental DNA which can performed on other molecular labs. We have developed complete kits for sampling, isolation, and analysis of eDNA samples. The kits and methods offered by Sylphium were thoroughly validated on robustness, detection limit, efficiency, and repeatability.

Certainties of kits supplied by Sylphium:

• Highest possible sensitivity (<10 DNA copies per reaction). Environmental water samples contain normally very low amounts of target DNA.
• Strong fluorescence signal with low background noise. Isolated environmental samples contain residues of naturally occurring auto fluoresce substances that will interfere with the measurements. A strong fluorescence signal from the analyses is required for these kind of samples.
• 100% specificity. Isolated DNA from environmental samples contains billions of DNA fragments from bacteria, protozoa, plants, animals, etc. Not only animals from the same order (fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, etc.) must be taken in account during primer/probe design, but all known DNA sequences must be checked for nonspecific binding of the primers and probe. This is validated by experimental and bioinformatical studies.

Courses
We offer also complete courses in Dutch or English for personnel of other labs to use the kits and methods we have developed on a reliable and reproducible way. If you are interested in these courses, please contact us.