About
FAQs
Here are the answers to your commonly asked “what...?” and “can we...?” queries. Don’t see the question you are looking for?
Sample Preparation and Shipping
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→ How do I submit a sample to Psomagen for sequencing services?
Get in touch with your sales representative at inquiry@psomagen.com or visit our order site to request a consultation and start the process.
Before your samples are shipped, you will need to complete the next-generation sequencing (NGS) order form and return it to your sales contact.
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→ Does Psomagen cover the cost of shipping for my samples?
Psomagen provides prepaid shipping labels for orders valued at $5,000 or higher.
If your order falls below $5,000, you will be responsible for shipping costs, billed to your institution’s shipping account.
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→ How long are samples stored at Psomagen?
Your samples can be stored for up to three months after your project’s completion.
Psomagen does not provide sample repository services. However, we may be able to store samples for longer than three months on a case-by-case basis.
Contact your sales representative for additional information. -
→ How does Psomagen accept payment for sequencing services?
Psomagen accepts purchase orders as well as payment by credit card.
Sample Extraction
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→ Can I send EDTA tubes?
Yes. Our team can extract DNA from blood collected and stored in Becton Dickinson (BD) EDTA tubes. However, any samples collected should arrive at a Psomagen lab within three days.
For longer-term storage, we recommend storing your samples in Zymo Research DNA/RNA Shield Blood Collection Tubes or QIAgen PAXgene Blood DNA tubes to keep DNA intact
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→ What are the sample requirements for genomic DNA extraction from human cells/peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)?
Psomagen can extract genomic DNA from fresh or frozen cells.
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→ Can Psomagen process low-quality DNA and RNA extracted from difficult sample types for next-generation sequencing?
Yes. There are options to process low-quality DNA and RNA for various sequencing applications.
Contact your sales representative to find out additional information. -
→ Do you accept extracted nucleic acid from infectious viruses?
Yes. We process samples received as nucleic acid or inactivated virus.
Extracted nucleic acids (RNA, cDNA, DNA) are components of inactivated virus and do not present a biosafety risk.
Need assistance? Contact your sales representative for information about sending samples for extraction by our team.
Library Preparation and Sequencing
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→ What are the sample requirements for individual library pools? Which concentrations can I pool and what diluent should I use?
We recommend submitting pooled libraries at a final concentration of 5nM of at least a volume of 35 μl in EB, water, or Tris-HCl.
This volume allows for our evaluation of sample quality. -
→ Can we pool different library types together to be run on the same sequencing flow cell lane?
We do not recommend this approach as we often see clustering bias when different types of libraries are run in the same lane. Uniformity cannot be guaranteed when pooling different library types.
If you’d like to discuss pooling options, contact your sales representative.
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→ What library preparation kit is used for CLIA whole-genome sequencing?
The following kits are CLIA-validated for whole-genome sequencing at Psomagen: Illumina® TruSeq® PCR-free Kit and Illumina® TruSeq® Nano Kit
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→ What quality control (QC) measures are employed on libraries before sequencing?
Our QC methods vary depending on the library preparation process. For example, our team uses the Agilent® 4200 TapeStation® System, an automated electrophoresis instrument, for library quantitation by size and/or real-time PCR quantitation.
Bioinformatics and Data Delivery
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→ What happens at the data transfer step?
We can deliver your data via downloadable FTP links, cloud/server (AWS, globus, DNANexus, etc.), or an external hard drive.
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→ Can we perform bioinformatic analysis on fungi whole-genome data analysis (mapping, variant calling, and annotation)?
If the reference sequence and gene annotation (gtf/gff3) files are provided, we can provide bioinformatics services for any species.
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→ Can Psomagen provide alternative splicing analysis for splicing changes from RNA-Seq data?
Our team provides transcript-level profiling, which identifies the expression of all isoforms for each gene.
What Our Customers Think
"Psomagen's staff is great to work with. Their after-care service is very helpful. They make sure to answer all questions and explain thoroughly. They are accessible via email or Zoom. We are still mostly in the extraction phase but the data we have sequenced so far gives great results!"
Kenneth Park
PharmD, Cipherome
"The main things I love about Psomagen are the consistently long reads (usually 1000 bp of high-quality sequence) for Sanger sequencing. They also have a great online system for ordering and ordering additional reactions, and they are generous with re-trials for the occasional failed sample. The customer service is also very responsive. They are still my preferred sequencing provider."
Gill Dean, Ph.D.
UBC
"We have used Psomagen’s whole exome next-generation sequencing service using multiple tissues derived from various mouse strains. The service has been very effective and timely, and we have achieved high-quality and reproducible results. The QC steps are easy to follow and the price is reasonable. Overall the service is great value for money."
Fengyi Wan, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Resources
Need Further Assistance?
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