New Library Prep Kits Help Prevent Costly Errors in Whole-Genome DNA Sequencing

For researchers conducting genome sequencing, one pipetting or mixing mistake can lead to costly errors downstream. When working with multiple samples in a high-throughput setting, error-free sample handling and proper mixing become even more critical. To reduce the potential for user error, the new Invitrogen Collibri DNA Library Prep Kits for high-throughput Illumina systems contain a tracking dye to quickly and easily visualize library prep progress.

The latest offering in Invitrogen’s line of next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation kits, the Collibri DNA Library Prep Kits’ colored dyes provide an in-process visual cue to improve workflow success. Researchers can have confidence that reagents are thoroughly mixed when the solution changes to one homogeneous color, while any incomplete addition or mixing of reagents is indicated by a lack of color change. The inert dyes do not interfere with enzymatic reactions and do not compromise sequencing results.

“One of the most common pain points in high-throughput genome sequencing is the need to eliminate operator error,” said Ray Mercier, vice president and general manager of molecular biology at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Researchers can’t afford to wait until conducting trace analysis to realize there has been an error in the library prep process. The Collibri DNA Library Prep Kits are designed to meet the increasingly demanding applications of high-throughput whole genome sequencing by enabling site directors to redeploy precious resources from experimental prep to data analysis, reducing the informatics bottleneck as facilities look to scale capabilities.”

Compared to competitor kits, the Collibri DNA Library Prep Kits provide improved sensitivity of variant detection, which is consistent among low abundance (1 ng) and high abundance (500-1,000 ng) samples. They also accommodate a wide range of sample types and inputs including intact DNA, degraded DNA and genomes of all sizes.

Researchers have a number of options for flexibility in sequencing projects:

• The Collibri Physically Sheared (PS) DNA Library Prep Kit is suitable for physically sheared genomes of all sizes and variable quality, including FFPE samples. The kit consistently offers higher confidence SNP and INDEL calls resulting from stronger coverage of challenging genomic regions from a wide range of inputs (1 ng to 1 µg) of physically sheared double-stranded DNA.
  
  
• The Collibri PCR-Free Physically Sheared (PS) DNA Library Prep Kit supports PCR-free protocols starting with as little as 500 ng of DNA.   
  
  
• The Collibri Enzymatically Sheared (ES) DNA Library Prep Kit supports a wide-range of inputs (1-500 ng) starting from intact DNA.
  
  
• The Collibri PCR-Free Enzymatically Sheared (ES) DNA Library Prep Kit supports PCR-free protocols starting with as little as 100 ng of DNA. 

All kits contain adapters with unique dual indexes (UDIs) or combinatorial dual indexes (CDs) that allow pooling of up to 24 or 96 different samples before the sequencing run.