New England Biolabs® broadens its Monarch® portfolio with high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction kits for long-read sequencing

IPSWICH, Mass., Nov. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New England Biolabs (NEB^®) today released two high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction kits — the Monarch HMW DNA Extraction Kit for Cells & Blood and the Monarch HMW DNA Extraction Kit for Tissue — that utilize a novel glass bead-based technology for more efficient and cost-effective extraction of very high molecular weight DNA. The extracted DNA can be used in downstream applications such as long-read DNA sequencing, optical mapping, and linked-read genome assembly. These new kits offer a streamlined workflow using large glass beads as a DNA binding surface, making it possible to extract high-quality HMW DNA up to several megabases in size that is easy to dissolve and ready to use in significantly less time.

"There is an increasing desire within the sequencing community for long-read sequencing to support applications like de novo genome assembly and the detection of structural variants," says Giron Koetsier, Development Scientist at NEB. "Long reads require that users start with high quality, intact HMW DNA. However, extraction of high-quality, HMW DNA has been a bottle neck, as existing methods are labor intensive, often use hazardous materials, and take several days. Newer methods have emerged, but each has its own significant drawbacks."

In response to this growing need, NEB developed a pair of HMW DNA extraction kits, enabling researchers to more efficiently extract DNA up to several megabases in size from cells, blood, tissue or bacteria with the highest possible yield and purity. Additionally, the resulting DNA also delivers outstanding performance in long-read sequencing. With the fastest workflows commercially available, the Monarch kits enable extraction of HMW DNA in 30 minutes for cells, 60 minutes for blood, and 90 minutes for tissue and bacteria. Purified DNA is ready to use in downstream applications in less than an hour, unlike other extraction techniques that often require days to properly dissolve the DNA.

"We've had great success with obtaining HMW DNA for long-read sequencing from a variety of cell types, using less input and obtaining a comparable yield with the Monarch Cells & Blood kit," said Inswasti Cahyani and Matt Loose from the DeepSeq NGS facility at the University of Nottingham in the UK. "It is straightforward and easy to use, as well as extremely robust in a lab dealing with many different sample types routinely. For quick extractions of HMW material, we have been very happy with Monarch!"

The Monarch HMW DNA Extraction Kits nicely complement NEB's Monarch Genomic DNA Purification Kit, which utilizes a silica spin column-based approach. Servicing the long-read sequencing markets, these kits can also be used alongside the NEBNext^® Companion Module for Oxford Nanopore Technologies^® Ligation Sequencing, which is available for library preparation for ligation-based nanopore sequencing.

For more details about the Monarch HMW DNA Extraction Kits, visit https://www.neb.com/monarch/high-molecular-weight-dna-extraction.

About New England Biolabs
Established in the mid 1970's, New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB) is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, sample preparation for next generation sequencing, synthetic biology, glycobiology, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors, including molecular diagnostics development. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and eight subsidiaries located in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

NEB^®, NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS^®, MONARCH^®, NEBNEXT^® are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.
OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES^® is a registered trademark of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE New England Biolabs

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