Bravo Automated Liquid Handling Platform for SureSelect Target Enrichment

Agilent's SureSelect Target Enrichment products have met the need for a robust and cost-effective approach for systematic resequencing of candidate regions in the human genome and other species. SureSelect is an in-solution method of targeting only the user defined regions of interest of a genome to identify genetic variants and mutations associated with disease. With the advent of SureSelect Target Enrichment Multiplexing kits, the ability to achieve targeted enrichment on multiple samples in a single sequencing lane is maximized, saving time and money without sacrificing performance. However, the handling of numerous samples can be cumbersome and the possibility for the introduction of sample processing errors greatly increases. Agilent has expanded the SureSelect Target Enrichment System to allow for higher throughput of numerous samples with the Bravo Automated Liquid Handling Platform. The SureSelect method selects user defined target regions of interest from SureSelect XT prepped genomic DNA libraries by hybridization to in-solution biotinylated cRNA probes; these enriched libraries are then compatible for sequencing using the llumina GAII and HiSeq platforms. The Agilent automation solution for SureSelect enables processing of up to 96 samples per run in much less time than can be obtained manually. Our SureSelect automation workflow includes SureSelect XT genomic DNA library construction, hybridization setup, and automated capture and wash steps. Each of these steps can be run with minimal user intervention and provide more uniformity than manual methods. We demonstrate here the throughput potential and consistency in performance across entire 96-well plates of multiplexed samples. In summary, SureSelect Automation solution provides an easy to use, automated gDNA library preparation and target enrichment system that is a cost-effective approach to analyzing discrete genomic regions with unprecedented depth, accuracy and throughput.