US-based BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) has announced the commercial launch of the first in a family of high-throughput, robotics-compatible reagent kits that will enable automation to ensure greater consistency and increased efficiency of large-scale, single-cell discovery studies.

The automated solution from the BD and Hamilton collaboration standardises traditionally manual processes and speeds the generation of material for genetic sequencing. The solution includes the newly released BD OMICS-One XT WTA Assay and the Hamilton Microlab NGS STAR automated liquid handling platform. Because the NGS STAR is already installed in many laboratories and facilities worldwide, more researchers, processing samples across an array of genomics applications, can easily integrate the new automation-ready BD assay into existing workflows.

The BD OMICS-One XT Library Preparation Reagent Kits and Hamilton Microlab NGS STAR automated liquid handling platform and applications are commercially available globally. The robotics liquid-handling platform is available for purchase from Hamilton, and the reagent kits are available for purchase from BD representatives, or in some regions, through BD's e-commerce portal.

In single-cell discovery studies involving genetic material, constructing preparatory material otherwise called "DNA libraries" is an essential early step. Historically, such preparations have been labor-intensive and time-consuming processes, with numerous manual steps that often lead to variability of results, compromised data quality, limited throughput, high cost and long turnaround times.