Fluidigm Corporation
today announced a sample quantification system that allows researchers to sequence
their libraries of rare samples and also dramatically lower costs, improve data
quality and speed up time-to-results for scientists performing next-generation
DNA sequencing.
Fluidigm’s new product, called SlingShot™, improves the productivity
of next generation sequencing tools from Roche, Illumina and Applied Biosystems.
It does so by exploiting the unique microfluidic properties of integrated fluidic
circuits (IFCs) to detect only amplifiable molecules within the sample mixture.
IFCs use extremely small amounts of sample, so this technology opens up the
ability to sequence rare libraries where suboptimal amounts of the tissue are
available.
The ability of IFCs to count individual molecules -- using digital PCR –
also eliminates the need for costly library titration as scientists ready their
samples for sequencing. Currently, these preparation steps must be performed
prior to almost every new sequencing run.
“We’re not offering another next-generation sequencing machine.
Instead, our technology makes your high-throughput sequencer better,”
said Gajus Worthington, Fluidigm President and Chief Executive Officer. “Because
we can prepare and enable sequencing with such a small amount of sample, we
expand the application space for researchers, sequencing companies and Fluidigm.”
Users of Fluidigm’s SlingShot technology are reporting key advantages
at two junctions: sub-optimal sample quantitation and replacement of the library
titration step. These implementations have allowed users to process previously
failed samples and eliminate the costly titration step, saving significant processing
time (up to 2 days).
As an example in making next-generation sequencers more productive, researchers
using a 454 Sequencing System routinely perform a titration run to calibrate
the equipment for its actual sequencing run. This titration run requires significant
amounts of biological sample, can cost as much as $10,000, and can take up to
a week to complete. Fluidigm’s SlingShot kit reduces the amount of biological
sample needed to as little as one pico-gram (for both preparation and sequencing),
eliminates this time-consuming costly titration step, and completes its work
in less than four hours. This allows researchers to optimize their use of the
high-throughput 454 DNA sequencing system.
Fluidigm’s SlingShot kit helps scientists find the optimal DNA ratio
for sample preparation. It includes an IFC chip, library-specific assays for
next-generation DNA sequencing platforms, the sample loading agent and the assay
loading agent.