New Sequencer Designed to Drive Advances in Cancer Biology and Genetic Disease Research

A new sequencer is designed to provide very fast and accurate genomic data for cancer biology and genetic disease research.

Life Technologies Corp. (Carlsbad, CA, USA), a provider of life science solutions, announced the launch of the 5500xl SOLiD sequencer. Developed and manufactured with long-standing partner Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. (Tokyo, Japan), the 5500xl delivers on the promise of the SOLiD 4hq, which was first announced in January 2010.

"We are delighted to be a partner of the joint development and manufacturing of the 5500 and 5500xl SOLiD sequencers. The 5500xl represents a significant leap forward in next-generation sequencing,” said Mark Stevenson, chief operating officer for Life Technologies. "We have revolutionized the biggest arsenal in our sequencing portfolio by evolving the instrument and the chemistries to better address the needs of translational researchers. Its unprecedented accuracy and rapid throughput make the 5500xl the ideal sequencing instrument for deciphering the genetic code of cancer, and paving the way for the future development of sequencing technologies for eventual use in clinical settings.”

The 5500xl SOLiD sequencer enables high-quality basepair format data--the new Exact Call Chemistry (ECC) option enables single-read accuracy better than 99.99%. These high-accuracy data are essential for the detection of minor variants in heterogeneous samples, a critical area of importance in cancer research. Furthermore, the data output is in standard base-pair format, allowing easier interface with third-party tertiary data analysis tools.

The 5500xl SOLiD sequencer utilizes a novel rapid-scan fluorescence detection system and it will initially deliver 20 Gb/day to 30 Gb/day of DNA sequence. Two high quality human genomes, 24 whole exomes, or 12 whole transcriptomes can be processed in a single run. With high-density nanobead technology, planned for the second half of 2011, the system will deliver 30 Gb/day to 45 Gb/day, increasing capacity to three or more genomes per run and enabling higher-coverage cancer genome sequencing.

The SOLiD Microfluidic FlowChip allows one to six independent lanes to be run with two FlowChips. For rapid turnaround, time a single lane can be completed in one day. The FlowChip uses very low volumes of sequencing reagents, allowing high throughput users to realize an initial cost of as little as US$3,000 per genome.

The 5500xl is a robust benchtop instrument with an integrated monitor and desktop computer. It contains a robotic reagent delivery system to track usage and provide quality checkpoints across the entire workflow, leaving little room for errors. Real-time data processing removes the need for a compute cluster and reduces the data footprint, speeding time to result and simplifying data handling.

The SOLiD 4hq and SOLiD PI programs were combined to develop a single, robust, easy-to-use platform for all researchers. Current SOLiD 4 system customers will be offered a cost-effective path to step up to the higher throughput 5500xl system. The SOLiD PI system will be replaced by the affordable 5500 SOLiD sequencer.

The 5500 and 5500xl SOLiD sequencers are for research use only, and not intended for animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use.

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Life Technologies
Hitachi High-Technologies