The Genome LIMs sequencing service covers genotyping, PCR and nucleic acid extraction and analyses methods to handle Affymetrix sample submission and tracking, job management and lab processing.
The service allows users to submit samples for processing, tracking samples through the lab with the downloading of data ready for analysis.
Expansion of the system will include other Affymetrix products and two colour microarrays in the future with the laboratory releasing a Human Genome service. The Affymetrix expression arrays are to be released at the end of this year.
Speaking at the Lab Automation Europe show, James Hadfield, microarray manager at the John Innes Centre, Genome Laboratory told DrugResearcher.com: "The service is a not-for-profit scheme intended to serve research organizations in which 95-98 per cent of their chip analysis samples are successful."
Technicians at the John Innes centre genome laboratory manage jobs in the database passing or fail samples at specific QC steps in the lab workflow. Micromanagement of jobs is automated by the system, speeding up job processing.
The service has received customers from as far as Germany and Turkey and has recently done some sequencing work for customers in Japan.
Hadfield said that the success of the service was due to the popularity of outsourcing in recent months, especially the microarray process. He said that the extension of the service was a response to customers who needed the specialised data immediately.
Expansion of the system will include other Affymetrix products and two colour microarrays in the future. Hadfield also mentioned the laboratory had just released a Human Genome service. The Affymetrix expression arrays are to be released at the end of this year.