Bionano Genomics Saphyr Chip, Sample Prep, Data Analysis

Bionano Genomics this week released new products related to its Saphyr platform for structural variation detection in genome analysis. First, the company launched a new version of the Saphyr Chip with three independent flowcells. When running on the two-chip Saphyr platform models that ship in 2019, the 3 X 1300 Saphyr Chip allows customers to map up to 42 whole human genomes per week or collect 1,300 Gbp (400x) coverage in less than 48 hours for samples in each of three flowcells.

The company also released a new kit for DNA isolation from blood and cells called Bionano Prep SP (solution phase). According to the company this kit dramatically reduces the time and effort needed to obtain extremely long, ultra-high molecular weight DNA by eliminating steps like plug-lysis and drop dialysis. Bionano Prep SP enables users to manually process up to six patient samples in less than three hours or up to 12 patient samples per day, which reflects a savings of a full day from the workflow compared to the current plug-lysis approach, Bionano said. The new kit also costs less on a per-sample basis, the protocol is automatable, and the high purity of resulting DNA enables faster run times on the instrument and higher data quality, the company noted.

Bionano also announced the upcoming release of the latest version of Bionano Solve, its suite of data-analysis tools, which for the first time will be available in a cloud-based implementation called Bionano Compute On-Demand. The pipeline analyzes single molecules for structural variation detection at low-allele fractions, and is particularly suited for analysis of complex, heterogeneous cancer samples and samples with germline mosaicism, the company said. All major types of structural variation can be detected with more than 80 percent sensitivity when present in just 5 percent allele fraction, while translocations and inversions can be detected with more than 90 percent sensitivity at this low frequency.