Agilent Automation Solutions has produced a guide to choosing the right automation instruments or instruments for your Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) workflow.

Next generation sequencing has revolutionized genomics, enabling entire genomes to be sequenced more efficiently than ever before. However, the typical NGS workflow is less revolutionary, with numerous manual steps and challenges that include cost, throughput, and variability. Traditional methods for sample preparation and data analysis can be extremely time consuming with numerous opportunities for error. Automation provides a solution for many of these challenges, and increases precision by reducing sample-to-sample variability.

Downloadable from http://www.chem.agilent.com/Library/brochures/5990-5876en_lo.pdf the guide reviews the factors influencing optimal integration of automation into your laboratory.  The guide further discusses and illustrates with real application examples how automated liquid handling can accelerate the speed and accuracy of the different steps in a typical NGS workflow.

To meet the challenges of NGS research - Agilent have developed optimized automation systems that allow you to increase the number of reactions you can perform in parallel, drastically reducing the amount of sample processing time and increasing the number of samples each researcher can process while reducing the amount of sample-to-sample variability. Background information is provided on the automated liquid handling systems, microplate handlers, sealers, seal piercers, centrifuges, barcode labelers and unified software platform that Agilent Automation Solutions use to create an optimized benchtop or free-standing system for automating a complete integrated next generation sequencing workflow.

From stand-alone units to fully integrated systems, Agilent Automation Solutions teams key sample preparation and creative walk-away automation approaches with personalised customer service to provide complete solutions for your laboratory.  Combining innovative engineering with high standards of quality, Agilent designs and manufactures high-performance equipment for processes that are revolutionising pharmaceutical, biotech, and genomic research.