MGI Launches Benchtop Sequencing Laboratory And Automation Products

By Bio-IT World Staff

October 29, 2019 Last week, at the 14th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-14) in Shenzhen, MGI released its new one-stop sequencing solution, including the portable “express” sequencing system DNBSEQ E series, the modular “digital biolab” DNBelab D series for use with the sequencing system, and the new DNBelab C series, a handheld single-cell laboratory that can fit into a pocket. In addition to the new instruments, MGI also released a series of antibody-based sequencing reagents, the CoolMPS high-throughput sequencing reagent kit.

“MGI has a vision to enable effective and affordable healthcare solutions for all,” said Mu Feng, chief executive officer of MGI, in a press release. “We are working to transform sequencing technology and enable our industry’s next big breakthroughs. From the most powerful sequencer to portable, handheld instruments, MGI has continuously innovated its products and technologies, and we now have a much more comprehensive and diversified portfolio."

DNBSEQ E series: Express mobile super-sequencing cube

As a benchtop sequencing system—about 12” square—the DNBSEQ E series products breaks every norm by integrating both fluidic and optical systems of traditional sequencers into a disposable cartridge. This design results in significant reagent conservation, faster run time and cost-effective operation, while significantly reducing the daily pipeline cleaning and maintenance of the instrument. In addition, because there is no traditional liquid path and optical system in the machine, the DNBSEQ E series products do not need a clean room, which makes DNBSEQ E sequencers highly adaptable for varied operating environments.

DNBelab D series: Digital biology lab

The DNBelab D series of modular digital biology labs complement the sequencing system as a complete set of sequencing solutions. DNBelab D series is built on digital nanofluidics technology, which has been proven for precise and versatile droplet manipulation in nanoliter- to microliter- scale, enabling the integration of complex sample pre-treatment processes into one single cartridge and a fully automated workflow without human intervention. From DNA to digital library construction, to on-machine sequencing and off-machine reporting, the manual operation time of the entire process is less than 10 minutes. At the same time, since the CMOS sensor reads the DNA sequence directly from the DNB patterned arrays, significantly reducing run time. The DNA sample to report process can be completed in as little as 8 hours. With abundant predefined and validated functions, and the flexibility of creating custom droplet manipulation scripts, the DNBelab D series is flexible.

DNBelab C series: Cell-focused portable single-cell omics series

The DNBelab C series single cell omics products are portable, economical and user-friendly single cell research solutions for all life science laboratories. The current products include the DNBelab C4 portable single cell system and DNBelab C series single cell RNA library preparation kit. The company calls the product a “single cell laboratory that can be packed into a pocket.” The entire device weighs less than half a pound, and operates with no power supply required, directly driven by negative pressure. Single cell sorting with barcoding can be done with a one-step pull, achieving a high degree of automation and greatly simplifying the steps for users. The method currently can capture 1,000 to 4,000 cells every time, with doublet rate of 1% to 5% and it is compatible with three different sequencing systems, DNBSEQ-T7, DNBSEQ-G400 (MGISEQ-2000) and DNBSEQ-G50 (MGISEQ-200), to meet the needs of various users. The program can be used with MGI’s ultra-high throughput sequencer DNBSEQ-T7 to achieve nearly 100 samples per day and obtain 100,000 cells.

CoolMPS high-throughput sequencing reagent kits released

CoolMPS is a fundamentally unique antibody-based chemistry to enable more accurate, efficient and longer reads with Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS). CoolMPS avoids DNA "scars" that can accumulate with traditional sequencing methods and affect the accuracy of subsequent reads. CoolMPS introduces unlabeled nucleotides and four fluorescent labeled antibodies in its sequencing process to recognize the incorporated bases. In this new process, the natural scarless bases are added in each sequencing cycle, enabling more accurate and longer reads. CoolMPS performs with high accuracy, reproducibility, and cost effectiveness and produced data on the DNBSEQ sequencing platform comparable to the existing platform.