Partnerships Provide Automated Library Preparation Solutions

PacBio recently announced collaborations with four automation providers as part of PacBio Compatible, an initiative that aims to ensure the compatibility of products optimized for use in PacBio workflows. The new partnerships with Hamilton, Integra, Revvity and Tecan provide customers with automated protocols for library preparation workflows for whole genome sequencing.

We spoke to Amit Patel, product marketing director at PacBio, to learn more about PacBio Compatible, the new collaborations and what benefits they will bring to customers. 

Anna MacDonald (AM): Can you tell us about PacBio Compatible and what prompted the development of this initiative?

Amit Patel (AP): We know that sequencing is only one step of the workflow for our customers, from extraction through analysis, and realize we can use our expertise to guide customers with recommendations for partner technology that would help them make the most of their PacBio sequencing. PacBio Compatible works with a wide range of organizations to ensure customers can find verified products that are complementary to their workflows for PacBio sequencing. 

AM: How are partners selected for the program?

AP: Our partners have been qualified by PacBio scientists to provide seamless integration and support for customers who are just starting out with PacBio sequencing or expanding their current capabilities. Partners go through a thorough vetting process that covers technology compatibility as well as alignment on commercial considerations, such as service and support.

AM: Can you tell us about the key features of the new collaborations with Hamilton, Integra, Revvity and Tecan?

AP: Automation providers Hamilton, Integra, Revvity and Tecan have created automated protocols to prepare samples for sequencing on Revio and Sequel II and IIe systems.

Automated library prep protocols are now available for the Hamilton Microlab® NGS STAR™, Integra Miro Canvas, Revvity Sciclone® G3 NGSx and Tecan DreamPrep® NGS Compact systems. Additional automation for loading libraries onto the Revio sequencing plate is available on the Hamilton NGS STAR and Tecan DreamPrep NGS Compact systems, providing customers with a fully automated workflow from DNA to sequence-ready consumables.

AM: The recently announced collaborations are focused on library preparation workflows. What challenges do researchers currently face in this area and what benefits will the new collaborations offer customers?

AP: Manual library preparation can be laborious, time intensive and can introduce errors if not done correctly. These automated library preparation solutions are designed to help our customers reduce costs, achieve consistent results and increase sequencing throughput. Combined with our new Nanobind HT DNA extraction workflows, customers will have true automated upstream workflows from sample to sequencing on PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing systems that will enable customers to easily scale to thousands of genomes per year.

AM: What do you see in store for the future of PacBio Compatible? 

AP: We want to encourage a diverse supportive ecosystem with high-quality partners for every application and step along the workflow. In our first year, we have set a strong groundwork of partnerships to cover the whole workflow. Looking ahead, customers can expect more options so they can select the partner technology that is the perfect fit for their specific lab’s needs.

Amit Patel was speaking to Anna MacDonald, Senior Science Editor for Technology Networks.

About the interviewee:

Amit Patel is the director of product marketing - applications, ecosystem and extractions. His team oversees the PacBio Compatible program as well as all ecosystem product marketing for the company. He joined PacBio in 2021 after a long and distinguished career at Illumina and Roche, among others.

He has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.