Fast & reliable automation of the NEBNext Ultra II FS DNA library prep kit for Illumina with firefly

Library preparation workflows are labor-intensive and difficult to scale while maintaining quality. As such, they are ideal candidate workflows for automation, allowing scientists to focus on analyzing data rather than generating it.

The firefly® liquid handling platform provides complete automation of the liquid handling steps in complex workflows such as library preparation. It does so by combining pipetting, dispensing, shaking, and incubation within a compact benchtop system. The instrument's easy-to-use software makes firefly accessible to anyone in the lab. A unique non-contact dispensing technology helps to reduce plastic waste, while low-volume accuracy enables the miniaturization of common workflows to drive down reagent costs.

In this webinar, Paul Lomax, Head of Genomics, and Maryia Karpiyevich, Senior Applications Development Scientist, at SPT Labtech will give an overview of this next-generation liquid handler. They will also present a case study detailing work that was undertaken in collaboration with a UK university core facility where firefly was used to generate libraries using the NEBNext® Ultra™ II FS DNA library kit for Illumina®. Comparative data for samples run both manually and via the automated workflow, including QC and sequencing data, will also be showcased.

Key learning objectives:

• Understand how to scale and automate library preparation workflows while maintaining quality
• Learn more about firefly, a new liquid handling platform that combines pipetting, dispensing, shaking, and incubation within a compact benchtop system
• Gain insight into how firefly was used to generate libraries using the NEBNext Ultra II FS DNA library kit for Illumina