Tuesday, July 11, 2017
WOBURN, MA — SeqLL, LLC announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I SBIR grant in the amount of $223,465 by the NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute to advance the development of Direct RNA Sequencing (DRS™) technology on SeqLL’s True Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS™) platform. The Phase I grant will allow SeqLL to improve DRS chemistry, extend read lengths, and increase throughput. The funding will also support proof of concept work to expand DRS capability to the single cell level, providing an unprecedented level of accuracy in single cell transcriptome analysis.
Accurate and reproducible RNA transcriptome analysis has traditionally been challenging for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms due to errors associated with reverse transcription, amplification and manipulations during library preparation. This is particularly difficult for low input samples and single cells. SeqLL’s DRS technology allows for direct sequencing of individual RNA molecules without conversion to cDNA or incorporation into a library, thus providing RNA sequence information with minimal manipulation and sample preparation bias.
“SeqLL is pleased that NHGRI recognizes the promise of Direct RNA Sequencing and acknowledges that gaps remain in our ability to accurately sequence RNA and DNA,” said Dr. Elizabeth E. Reczek, CEO of SeqLL. “Despite the range of commercially available Next Gen Sequencing platform technologies, accurate quantitative sequencing of RNA, particularly short, degraded and low input samples, remains a challenge for the field. SeqLL remains committed to pushing the boundaries of quantitative, bias-free sequencing for basic research, biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostic applications.”
“This research is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43HG009573. This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”
About SeqLL
Located in Woburn, MA, SeqLL, LLC was founded in 2013 to bring a new breed of next generation sequencing technology, true Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS), to the research and healthcare communities. SeqLL currently offers its amplification-free transcriptome profiling, specialty DNA analysis and bioinformatics on a service basis.
About tSMS
SeqLL’s exclusive true Single Molecule Sequencing platform enables direct parallel sequencing of millions of individual molecules. This novel amplification-free technology precisely reflects sample composition without bias and loss of diversity via a simple, integrated workflow and benchtop instrument design. In contrast with other technologies, sample preparation is minimized to as little as 3 steps. tSMS can deliver linear quantification over a 5-log range and sensitivity to 1.3-1.5-fold differences in expression levels. It is ideal for fragment sizes as low as 50 base pairs and can yield valuable data from even picogram-level input.
For more information, please visit www.SeqLL.com.
Contact
Media inquiries:
Elizabeth Reczek, CEO media@seqll.com
