Genexus™ Purification System (Ion Torrent™)

The Ion Torrent Genexus Purification System automates the extraction of nucleic acids in as little as two hours from various sample types, including formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) lysate, plasma, whole blood, fresh or frozen tissue, peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs), cultured cells, and bone marrow aspirate. Consumables for the system come prefilled with reagents and support up to 12 samples per run (6 samples when extracting from plasma). The system includes an onboard Qubit Fluorometer to automate post-extraction nucleic acid quantification and has been verified using the Genexus Integrated Sequencer as part of a complete specimen-to-result workflow.

The Genexus Purification System offers:
• MagMAX technology—enabling consistent extraction results
• Prefilled consumables—helping reduce setup hands-on time
• Vision system—providing real-time feedback on consumables during run setup to prevent setup error
• Integrated nucleic acid quantitation—reducing post-run processing times

The Genexus Purification System automates the extraction and quantitation of nucleic acids from a variety of tissue types for use on the Genexus Integrated Sequencer. With a single touch point and 10 minutes of hands-on time, the purification system can extract both DNA and RNA sequentially from FFPE lysates, cfTNA from plasma, and DNA or RNA separately from whole blood, fresh or frozen tissue, bone marrow, or peripheral blood leukocytes. When connected to the integrated sequencer, the Genexus Software streamlines the next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflow by integrating the setup-to-report workflow within a single software ecosystem.

Prefilled reagents
The Genexus Purification System consumables are prefilled with most reagents necessary to perform the extraction, so only a few pipetting steps are required per sample to set up the run. Simply remove the foil seal, add enzymes and your samples, then place the consumables onto the instrument.

Vision system
Just like the Genexus Integrated Sequencer, the Genexus Purification System uses an onboard vision system to verify reagent placement and detect errors in real time. The vision system continuously checks that the consumables are appropriate to the purification run type and helps prevent the running of expired or previously used consumables. Feedback on the consumables loaded in the system is displayed on the screen in the system’s base.

MagMAX technology
MagMAX technology uses magnetic beads to perform nucleic acid extraction. MagMAX beads offer superior binding capacity due to their large surface area, accept a greater range of samples with differing viscosities, and allow for efficient elution in small volumes.

48‐well nucleic acid archive plate
After extraction, all nucleic acids are transferred directly to the 48‐well archive plate and kept cool for up to one hour after run completion. The 48‐well nucleic acid archive plate is barcoded to facilitate the tracking of sample extractions across several stored archive plates.

Automated quantitation
The Genexus Purification System automates quantitation of extracted nucleic acids using an onboard Qubit Fluorometer. Two dyes are used to measure the concentration of DNA or RNA from each extracted sample. Automating post-run quantitation saves hands-on time and allows for immediate use of the extracted samples in genetic analysis workflows after run completion.

Rapid turnaround
Run times on the Genexus Purification System range from 2 to 5.5 hours depending on the number of samples extracted and the protocol being run. Automated quantitation helps significantly reduce post-run hands-on time, allowing for rapid transition to subsequent genetic analysis workflows.

Post-run clean
After each run all consumables that touch the sample are discarded by the researcher after which the Genexus Purification System uses a UV light to clean the deck. This automated UV cleaning prevents possible run-to-run carryover of nucleic acid which could lead to contamination of downstream sequencing.

Additional workflow benefits
The Genexus Purification System is part of the Ion Torrent Genexus System, the first turnkey NGS solution that automates the specimen-to-report workflow and can deliver results in a single day. When the Genexus Purification System is connected to the Genexus Integrated Sequencer additional workflow benefits include:
Genexus Software—the software on the Genexus Integrated Sequencer is used to plan the complete specimen-to-report workflow. Researchers use this software to select the NGS assay and assign samples to be run. The software tracks samples from purification through to sequencing and post-run sample reports.
NGS-ready output plate—when the Genexus Purification System is connected to the Genexus Integrated Sequencer and run as part of an integrated workflow, a predefined aliquot of each extracted nucleic acid is transferred from the archive plate to an NGS-ready 96‐well nucleic acid output plate, which serves as the sample input to the Genexus Integrated Sequencer.
Review concentrations—when the Genexus Purification System is paired with the Genexus Integrated Sequencer and run as part of an integrated workflow, extracted nucleic acid concentrations are passed to the Genexus Software. Assay-specific nucleic acid concentration thresholds can be set to screen which samples proceed to sequencing, or extraction outputs can be reviewed manually before proceeding. Review of nucleic acid concentrations can prevent wasting sequencing reagents on samples where the quantity is not sufficient.
Pipet-free transfer to Genexus Integrated Sequencer—when the Genexus Purification System is connected with the Genexus Integrated Sequencer and run as part of an integrated workflow, the post extraction nucleic acid concentrations are sent to the Genexus Software on the integrated sequencer. Pipet-free transfer of the NGS-ready output plate to the integrated sequencer is made possible as the nucleic acid concentrations provided allow the sequencer to perform dilutions of the nucleic acids down to the assay-specific input amount for the sequencing workflow.