October 5, 2017
Today, Illumina announced the availability of an innovative whole genome sequencing (WGS) library prep product, Nextera DNA Flex, which eliminates the need for sample preparation for whole blood and saliva, and removes tedious steps in the library prep workflow, such as mechanical fragmentation of DNA, quantification and normalization. Nextera DNA Flex offers a fast, integrated workflow for a wide variety of applications ranging from human WGS to WGS preps for libraries of amplicons, plasmids and microbial species, all compatible with any Illumina sequencer. Pre-orders are shipping this week.
“The Illumina team has developed an entirely new technology that significantly reduces the number of steps in the library prep process, comprising the fastest and most flexible solution in the Illumina library prep portfolio. We believe that the simplicity, versatility and performance of Nextera DNA Flex makes it a transformational technology for WGS applications and more,” shared Giovanna Prout, Associate Director of Product Marketing at Illumina. “Yet, excitingly, it also represents a simple, robust and easy to use entry point for ‘New to NGS’ customers.”
“Nextera DNA Flex represents a fundamentally new assay platform designed to support the development of multiple products, streamlining customer workflows and catalyzing myriad new applications,” said Kevin Meldrum, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Illumina. “The development and commercialization of Nextera DNA Flex reflects Illumina’s commitment to innovation and our team’s dedication to building comprehensive sequencing solutions our customers can trust. Furthermore, the core technology components on which Nextera is based can be utilized by our partners as library prep toolkit components to support the development of additional applications.”
While advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology have accelerated the pace of genomic research, many laboratories continue to experience bottlenecks during the library preparation phase of the NGS workflow. With multiple steps required both before and after library preparation, many labs contend with significant delays before they are able to start the sequencing process. Pre-library preparation steps include DNA extraction, quantitation and fragmentation, while post-library prep steps include library quality assessments, library quantitation and normalization. Nextera DNA Flex enables direct input of blood and saliva samples, eliminating the need for ancillary equipment and reagents to extract DNA and quantify samples concentration prior to sequencing.
Some highlights of Nextera DNA Flex Library Prep include:
Fast Library Prep Workflow
· Saves time and reduces hands-on touch points with On-Bead Tagmentation, which reduces total library prep time turnaround time to less than three hours.
Integrated Sample Input
· Enhances library preparation efficiency with integrated DNA extraction protocols for blood, saliva, dried blood spots and direct colony.
Flexible Workflow with Broad DNA Input Range
· Simplifies daily operations with a kit that supports a broad range of inputs (1–500ng) from multiple types of genomes.
Wide Range of Applications
· Sequences human or other large/complex genomes as well as amplicons and microbial, parasitic, or fungal species.
Optimized Library Prep Performance
· Obtains consistent insert sizes and high coverage uniformity with minimal hands-on time and automation-friendly protocols.
For additional information, please visit http://www.illumina.com/nextera-dna-flex.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected market demand for new products and services and product availability and funtionality. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements include challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, and launching new products and services, and the other factors that are detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We do not intend to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
