New England Biolabs® launches Monarch® Mag Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) Extraction Kit to enable scalable, reproducible cfDNA isolation from biofluids

The automation-compatible, bead-based method optimizes cfDNA recovery from plasma, serum, urine and cerebrospinal fluid

IPSWICH, Mass., Feb. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New England Biolabs (NEB^®) announces the release of the Monarch Mag Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) Extraction Kit, which enables consistent, scalable extraction of low-abundance, circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for downstream applications including biomarker discovery and diagnostics development. The magnetic, bead-based workflow is compatible with biofluids including plasma, serum, urine and cerebrospinal fluid across variable input volumes from 1ml to 4 ml.

"Extracting cell-free DNA is uniquely challenging because it is highly fragmented and circulating at low concentrations within complex and variable biofluid matrices," stated Anagha Kadam, Applications and Product Development Scientist II at NEB. "The kit utilizes a specialized chemistry and silica-coated magnetic beads to efficiently recover short DNA fragments from challenging samples that inherently exhibit high nuclease activity."

The kit design and format offers maximum versatility across sample number, input amounts and sample types. Whether users are manually handling a couple of samples or processing a higher throughput with the support of automation, they can expect consistent recovery of concentrated cfDNA across the full range of fragment sizes, down to 50 base pairs in length. Aligned with the broader Monarch portfolio, the kit reduces plastic usage in reagent bottles and packaging components as compared to standard market solutions.

James Deng, Senior Product Marketing Manager for NEB, anticipates that expanding the company's nucleic acid purification portfolio to include cfDNA extraction will enable more streamlined sample-to-result support for researchers. "Bouncing between vendors to troubleshoot an issue is exhausting and inefficient," he explained. "With a cfDNA extraction kit that integrates seamlessly into our downstream sequencing and amplification solutions, we're empowered to more holistically address customer challenges from sample preparation through molecular diagnostic applications."

The Monarch Mag Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) Extraction Kit pairs with NEB's downstream amplification and library prep products, including the NEBNext^® portfolio for next generation sequencing library preparation. For more details about the Monarch Mag Cell-free DNA Extraction Kit, or to view performance data, visit www.neb.com/T4070

About New England Biolabs:

For over 50 years, New England Biolabs (NEB) has pioneered the discovery and production of innovative products tailored for molecular biology research. Our commitment to scientific discovery is evident in all that we do, including our ever-expanding product portfolio, investment in our basic and applied research program, and support of customers' research in academia and industry, including cutting-edge technologies for use in molecular diagnostics and nucleic-acid vaccines development. Guided by our founding principles, NEB proactively invests in efforts to improve the well-being of our employees, surrounding communities, as well as the future of our planet. NEB remains a privately held company with global reach, supported by our headquarters in Ipswich, MA, USA, subsidiary offices in 10 countries, and over 60 distribution partners around the world. For more information about New England Biolabs, visit www.neb.com.

NEB®, NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS®, NEBNext® and MONARCH® are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.

SOURCE New England Biolabs, Inc.