Fluidigm Corporation has introduced an Access Array integrated fluidic chip (IFC) for 454 FLX users active in amplicon tagging.
This IFC automatically generates emPCR-ready libraries by simultaneously combining 48 samples and 48 primer sets to produce 48 uniquely barcoded samples per chip for approximately US$7 per sample.
When used with a 454 FLX sequencer, the Access Array IFC can capture up to 12kb of sequence data per sample, or 576kb per array. Upcoming applications on the Access Array system, such as long range PCR, will allow users to target up to 480kb of sequence data per sample, or 23MB per array.
"The flexibility, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness of our Access Array system will enable researchers to expand the scope of experiments on next generation sequencers," said Mike Lee, Fluidigm's senior director of marketing.
The company says the product is the first IFC with the ability to harvest the sample out of the chip. Once the sample processing has been completed in the chip it automatically returns the sample to the inlets where they can be easily extracted and readied for sequencing.
Fluidigm says sequencing library preparation for next-generation sequencers is the most time and labour demanding component of the next-generation sequencing process. While necessary for whole genome sequencing studies, the process can be almost entirely eliminated for targeted re-sequencing projects through the use of amplicon tagging. By incorporating the adaptor sequences into the primer design, the final PCR product is ready to go into emPCR or onto the flowcell since it already contains the necessary capture sequences.