Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) has
announced the expansion of the HaloPlex
target enrichment system, which will now be available on Ion
Torrent's Personal Genome Machine, a benchtop sequencing solution.
The HaloPlex system features a unique
paired-end design, which positions reads at both target ends using a single-end
sequencing run. By taking advantage of the extra coverage that the paired-end
design provides, researchers will be able to save sequencing costs and time.
"The HaloPlex technology makes it
possible for us to capture specific sets of genes in a single reaction,"
said Peter Ray, head of molecular genetics at The Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto, Canada. "So far we have gotten great coverage of the mutations we
were looking for. By combining HaloPlex with Ion Torrent we are able to
generate sequencing data for our targets in a single day."
HaloPlex continues to break barriers
common to other target enrichment technologies and can now enable larger
capture sizes during desktop sequencing - up to 5Mb or approximately 2,000
genes on a MiSeq personal sequencer. HaloPlex offers greater efficiency and
improved performance and, with the update released today, it allows researchers
to process up to 250,000 amplicons in the same tube.
"HaloPlex is helping to transform
target enrichment, especially for desktop sequencers," said Olle Ericsson,
director of marketing, DNA sequencing at Agilent. "We are overcoming
previous barriers with the fastest, most flexible and most innovative target
enrichment platform on the market."
The Haloplex system's fast-scaling
target enrichment technology demonstrates Agilent's ongoing commitment to
enabling a better research workflow regardless of the sequencer platform being
used.
HaloPlex is a flexible and customizable
product that enables users to create designs in less than 10 minutes to enrich
thousands of genomic targets, using the no-charge Web Design Wizard.
Agilent acquired Halo Genomics of
Uppsala, Sweden, and the HaloPlex platform in December, 2011. HaloPlex
technology complements the existing Agilent SureSelect target-enrichment
system.
For more information, visit www.agilent.com/genomics/ngs.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is
the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical
analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications. The company's 18,700
employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had net revenues
of $6.6 billion in fiscal 2011. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.