October 6, 2025 — Rockville, Md. — In our most recent white paper, Psomagen’s lab compared the performance of the Illumina NovaSeq X Plus and the Ultima Genomics UG 100 when running 10x Genomics single-cell sequencing samples.
The goal of this paper was to evaluate data quality and consistency of 10x Chromium 3’ and 5’ technologies when run on different instruments. New technologies are critical to reducing the cost of large-scale single-cell sequencing projects. Ultima’s wafer technology is a cost-saving innovation with the potential to lower single-cell sequencing costs, making it a more accessible research technology.
To test this, we ran a 3’ library of 20 human brain samples, and a 5’ library of 10 human PBMC samples. Our bioinformatics team then reviewed the results, and concluded that:
After cellranger analysis, Illumina and Ultima sequencing depths are comparable.
Lower Q scores observed in Ultima libraries are not indicative of poorer data quality.
3’ GEX cell clustering is consistent across platforms without batch correction.
5’ GEX cell clustering is also consistent across platforms, after correcting for batch effects.
Although the UG 100 5’ library required batch correction and altered filtering settings, results were overall comparable on the UG 100 and NovaSeq X Plus. These results indicate that the UG 100 is a viable option for conducting 10x Genomics single-cell sequencing.
For more details and data, read the full white paper at the link below.
This is Psomagen’s second white paper comparing Ultima and Illumina system performance. The first white paper compared running Olink Proteomics Explore HT on both instruments, and found that the UG 100 provides comparable results for HT runs.
About Psomagen
Psomagen, Inc., formerly Macrogen U.S.A., is a North American integrative omics solutions and contract laboratory services provider. The company makes cutting-edge technology and data analysis accessible to the academic, pharma, biotech and clinical markets. With both CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited facilities, its team delivers the highest-quality multiomics data using best-in-class DNA, RNA, and protein analysis systems. In conjunction with its bioinformatics capabilities, Psomagen offers a path to insights that is both simple and affordable. Learn more at psomagen.com.
About Ultima Genomics
Ultima Genomics mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. Ultima is challenging conventional next-generation sequencing technologies, with its new sequencing architecture designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit www.ultimagenomics.com.