Life Technologies Corporation introduced its new benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer that is designed to sequence the entire human genome in a day for $1,000 in India today. The Ion Proton Sequencer, based on semiconductor technology is the latest next-generation sequencing platform developed by Life Technologies that has made its predecessor, the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM), the fastest-selling sequencer in the world.
Until now, it has taken weeks to months to sequence a human genome at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000 using optical-based sequencing technologies. The slow pace and the high instrument costs ranging between $500,000 to $750,000 have limited human genome sequencing to a relatively few, heavily-funded research labs.
The Ion Proton Sequencer is the first benchtop next-generation sequencer which enables human and plant whole genome sequencing in a day at a fraction of the current equipment and running costs. Powered by Ion Torrent semiconductor chip technology, the Ion Proton Sequencer is the first benchtop next-generation sequencer to offer fast, affordable human genome and human exome sequencing.
Powered by the next-generation of semiconductor sequencing technology and offering a similar single-day workflow to the Ion PGM Sequencer, the Ion Proton Sequencer promises to change the way scientists look at genomics.
Two well-known genomic laboratories in India have placed orders for the Ion Proton. One of the orders was placed by Genotypic Technologies, India’s premium genomics service provider. Speaking about Ion Proton, Dr Raja Mugasimangalam, CEO of Genotypic Technologies, said, “The simplicity of the technology and higher throughputs without upgrades as well as Life Technologies’ strong presence in India gives us the confidence to adopt this technology.”
Between the benchtop Ion PGM Sequencer and the benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer, the Ion Torrent technology can cover any application. The Ion PGM Sequencer is ideal for sequencing genes, small genomes, panels of genes, or performing gene expression profiling, for as little as $99 a chip. The Ion Proton Sequencer is ideal for sequencing both exomes regions in the DNA that code for protein and human genomes. All products referenced are for research use only, and not intended for any animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use.
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