Qiagen has announced two important new product launches which address workflow challenges in next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications.
Qiagen will present these and several other innovative solutions for NGS applications at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting from 5 April to 9 April 2014 in San Diego, with about 35 poster and other sessions featuring applications of QIAGEN’s Sample & Assay Technologies.
The innovative QIAxpert instrument accelerates quantification and quality control of DNA and RNA samples for next-generation sequencing (NGS), while the new CLC Cancer Research Workbench is the first complete bioinformatics software suite for rapid analysis, user-friendly visualization, and accurate interpretation of advanced NGS data in cancer research.
Qiagen CEO Peer M. Schatz noted the company’s portfolio of universal products for NGS includes innovative solutions for many of the key workflow challenges our customers face in sample preparation. QIAxpert and QIAxcel can assure the highest sample quality, saving time and costs by reducing the risk of having to repeat NGS experiments, and thus helping laboratories to generate valuable insights.
"In addition, our industry-leading bioinformatics portfolio is providing a new dimension of utility for our customers, as our commercial software solutions offer highest quality and performance, helping to accelerate NGS workflows and remove variability.
"The new CLC Cancer Research Workbench offers scientists and clinicians state-of-the-art analysis and interpretation of gene variants and cancers. At AACR, we will show these products plus new data for our GeneRead™ gene panels – all of which maximize NGS performance for all major platforms," Schatz added.
QIAxpert is a high-speed UV/VIS spectrophotometer that enables laboratories to effortlessly assess the quality and quantity of nucleic acids in up to 16 samples within just two minutes. The QIAxpert employs intuitive software and an interactive touchscreen.
Pre-installed smart analysis applications can quantify both DNA and RNA with advanced spectral protocols to accurately differentiate molecules in complex samples, providing a comprehensive analytical profile. QIAxpert aligns well with QIAxcel, QIAGEN’s capillary electrophoresis platform for DNA/RNA fragment analysis, ensuring the best quality in nucleic acid sample preparation for NGS.
The CLC Cancer Research Workbench is the world’s first comprehensive, cancer-focused bioinformatics solution that can be modified or personalized by researchers. Its user-friendly software enables researchers to identify prognostic markers, identify sub-clonal somatic mutations, detect inherited traits, find biomarkers for drug response, and determine new oncogenes.
Advanced re-sequencing tools, in combination with an intuitive graphical user interface, provide rapid analysis and accurate interpretation of advanced NGS data. The CLC Cancer Research Workbench also enables all results to be filtered, visualized, and compared with relevant databases like COSMIC, ClinVar, or in-house curated ones, as well as with other datasets, in order to provide valuable insights and guide user research.