Assay Design Hub

1. Can I get an assay designed or redesigned so that it is compatible within a multiplex of other assays?
This type of design work is not included in the free Assay Design Hub services. Please contact your local Thermo Fisher representative to discuss your project needs.

2. What type of microbial pathogen assays can be designed through this service?
Assays designed for the detection of pathogen strains or species are supported. Other types of assays (SNP, copy number, or genus-specific assays) are excluded.

3. What is the difference between TaqMan Assays and custom primers and probes?
TaqMan Assays are a preformulated mix of a forward primer, a reverse primer, and a FAM and/or VIC dye labeled TaqMan MGB probe. Custom primers and probes are individually orderable, custom oligos that can be customized with a wider selection of dyes and quenchers.
Learn more ›

4. How do I order a preformulated assay with my own primer/probe designs?
Each custom assay design tool allows you to input your own primer/probe designs to be formulated as an assay.

5. Can I submit my custom castPCR and Advanced miRNA design requests through the Assay Design Service?
Yes. These requests that previously were sent to Specialty Oligos can now be submitted through our Assay Design Service.

6. Can I submit assay design requests for digital PCR assays?
Yes. The Assay Design Service can be utilized for both qPCR and digital PCR assay designs.

7. Will the assay information provided to Thermo Fisher Scientific be kept confidential?
Thermo Fisher Scientific will protect the confidentiality of your submissions and ensure that its representatives will not disclose, reverse engineer, or decompile your sequences in any way not pertaining to the specific purpose of your design request. Your assay designs are protected using the same systems that safeguard our TaqMan predesigned assays.

8. Are assay design sequences disclosed?
Sequences for designs generated using our self-service custom assay design tools (except for Custom Plus assays) will be available via our TaqMan files database. Designs generated through our Assay Design Service or derived from our predesigned assays are proprietary to Thermo Fisher Scientific and the primer/probe sequences of these assay designs will not be disclosed. Please read our Thermo Fisher and TaqMan terms and conditions for additional details.

9. How do I order the custom assay designs that I receive?
You will receive ordering instructions along with the results of your design request.

10. How do I check if Thermo Fisher Scientific already has a predesigned assay for the target I’m looking to design an assay for?
We offer over 20 million predesigned assays for popular qPCR applications. Easily search our library using our TaqMan Assay search wizard.

11. Can I commercialize the assay that I design through Thermo Fisher Scientific?
Yes, you can obtain commercial use rights for our assays through our OEM channel. Learn more by visiting OEM.thermofisher.com.

12. What is the turnaround time for receiving my designs?
Designs generated via our self-service custom assay design tools will be available immediately. Designs generated through our Assay Design Service will be received within 10 business days.

13. Are the assay designs that I receive from the Assay Design Service functionally tested?
No, all assay designs and multiplexing predictions are generated using our latest in silico tools and algorithms. Upon receipt, they should be functionally tested with actual samples to ensure they perform to your requirements.

14. Are assay designs from the Assay Design Service subject to the TaqMan Assays qPCR Guarantee?
No. The TaqMan Assays qPCR Guarantee only applies to our predesigned assays.

15. Will every assay design request result in an assay design?
No. We will do our best to generate an assay design according to your submitted requirements. However, not all requests will result in a design due to complexity of the requirements, limitations of our tools and algorithms, and feasibility of the request.

16. How do I learn more about multiplexing with TaqMan custom primers and probes?
Please read our Multiplex Optimization Guide and learn more about our full list of available dyes and quenchers.