Ion PGM™ System: a flexible sequencing system for accurate biomedical research
The Ion PGM™ System from Thermo Fisher Scientific is a sequencing platform that meets the needs of researchers involved in the study of human diseases, microbial genomics and ancient DNA analysis. It stands out for its ability to deliver reliable, reproducible results while adapting to a variety of applications thanks to a wide range of chips and integrated software solutions. The system is particularly used in the fields of cancer research, hereditary diseases, epigenomics, metagenomics and agricultural genomics.
The Ion PGM™ sequencer can be used to perform targeted DNA and RNA sequencing protocols, copy number analysis, de novo sequencingof microbial genomes, and bacterial and viral typing. It also supports SNP verification, small RNA sequencing, ChIP analysis and methylation. To meet these needs, several target selection solutions are available, such as Ion AmpliSeq™ or Ion TargetSeq™ technologies, as well as library preparation kits compatible with up to 384 barcodes via Torrent Suite™ software.
The system consists of two components: the Ion PGM™ sequencer and the Ion Torrent™ server, in the form of a stand-alone computer tower. The latter performs signal processing, base calling, alignment and variant identification. Ion Reporter™ software can be used as a complement to provide detailed annotation and reporting of results, suitable for simple or comparative analyses (e.g., normal tumour vs. mutated tumour).
With its compact design and compatibility with multiple chip types, the Ion PGM™ allows users to choose the throughput level best suited to their projects: from a few hundred thousand to several million reads per sequence. Its ease of use, compatibility with numerous kits and software, and adaptability make this system a strategic choice for laboratories seeking a high-performance sequencing platform without sacrificing flexibility.
