University of the Free State | UFS | Universities | Next Generation Sequencing Unit

Scripting and training for the Chemagic 360™ instrument and Zephyr® G3 NGS workstation

The University of the Free-Next Generation Sequencing (UFS-NGS) Unit is from 18 July to 22 July 2022, hosting field specialists and Engineers from PerkinElmer to program and train on the use of the newly acquired Chemagic™ 360 and Zephyr® G3 NGS instruments.

The Chemagic™ 360 is a nucleic acid extraction instrument that represents an ideal solution for nucleic acid isolation in a vast variety of samples for structured biology work, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), biobanking/human genetics, HLA typing, virus, and bacterial detection assays.

The Zephyr® G3 NGS workstation is one of the two benchtops automated liquid handler’s acquired for use at the UFS-NGS Unit for the construction of up to 96 DNA libraries for every run thus increasing throughput and efficiency while reducing variability resulting from manual pipetting.

Prof. Nyaga was optimistic that the instruments would be vital in enhancing the quality of the data generated at the Unit, which also serves as a WHO collaborating centre for vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance and pathogen genomics.

From left to right: Ms Hlengiwe Sondlane (MMed Sci student), Ms Nosipho Zwane (visiting NHLS intern), Mr Ayodeji Ogunbayo (PhD Medical Virology student),  Ms Vivan Nwokorogu (visiting MSc student from Durban University of Technology) , Ms Robyn Potgieter (MMed Sci student), Mr Milton Mogotsi (PhD Medical Virology student), Ms Seshnee Pillay (PerkinElmer), Ms Helene Roux (Perkin Elmer), Dr. Peter Mwangi (Research Fellow, UFS-NGS Unit)

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