 Introduction |
What is EZ-seq?
 |
EZ-seq
is a DNA sequencing service developed by Macrogen Europe.
It uses 2D Bar-code labels
for simple and secure tracking
of the samples. It provides DNA sequence data with high
reliability with fast turn-around
time at reasonable price.
|
How
does it work?
| |
When you make an order, we ship
the EZ-seq labels to you via
regular mail. All you need to
do is to mix the template with
sequencing primer you want to
use, and ship the samples to
our laboratory with EZ-seq labels
on the samples.
By the time you make an order, we already have your email address. So the EZ-seq
labels issued are automatially linked to your email address, and any sequence
data came from the sample with the labels will be directed to your email address.
This means that you do not need to log in or fill the complicated order form
everytime you have something to sequence.
Introduction about EZ-seq System
|
Why
do I need it?
| |
Have you ever felt bored of making
long lines of order sheet with
template and matching primer?
Have you ever been annoyed with so many invoices that came to you everytime you
send sequencing samples?
Have you ever wondered how much reasonably it was charged for your sequencing
service?
Have you ever wanted to have your DNA sequences back earlier?
Have you ever felt it annoying to log in the web site every time you check out
the results?
If you have any of above experiences, it is worth giving a try to EZ-seq, because
EZ-seq is designed to get rid of such inconveniences. We are quite sure that
you will be surprised to see how EZ the DNA sequencing can be. |
What
are the differences between four services?
| |
EZ-seq service has two options,
Tube vs 96-well plate, and Purification
vs purified template. By combination
of these four options, four different
services are available. EZ-seq
Purification service will go
through PCR purification prior
to sequencing. |
|
|
| Making order |
Why
do I have to provide all these information?
| |
We tried to reduce the amount
of information required, but
found that there are some essential
information without which we
cannot properly deliver our service.
So we beg your kind understanding
for these. Once you've set up
the account in our on-line system,
you won't need to fill in those
information again. Your information
shall be encrypted and securely
stored in our server, and shall
not be used for any other purpose
than correct delivery of our
service. |
Why
is the email address so important?
| |
In DNA sequencing service,
Email address is just like
delivery address of the final
product. Let's say you orders
one vial of Taq polymerase.
The most important information
in the order will be where
the product should be delivered.
So, having a proper and secure
email address connected to
the EZ-seq label is very
much important. |
Can
I give my labels to my colleagues?
| |
Whoever uses the labels, and
wherever the samples with labels
come from, the sequence data
will be directed to the designated
email address, so you will need
to forward the results to your
colleagues. For change of the
recipient email address, please
refer to the article right below. |
Can
I change the recipient email address from
what was given by the time of
order?
| |
Change of delivery email address
is the change of final beneficiary,
and it is more or less like change
of the contract, so it is our
recommendation not to do this
frequently. But we are quite
a flexible in fitting ourselves
to your needs, and we can do
that for you. But we will need
to get the written confirmation
from both of two parties. Please
contact us if you wish to proceed
with this. |
Is
there any order sheet necessary?
| |
No. You can make order from this
web page, and there's no need
for typing-in or importing the
individual reaction information.
You know better about your samples
than we do, and we do not need
to know what you are sequencing.
All we do is to do our best with
what we got from you! |
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|
| Results |
How
long does it take until I receive the results?
| |
EZ-seq is 24-hour service. From the moment of sample arrival, it will take between
12 hour ~ 24 hour depending on what time point the samples arrive. But we
basically guarantee 24 hours if there's no problem with the sample condition. |
What
kind of sequence results do I get?
| |
We
provide the following files.
AB1 : Raw chromatogram file
with quality score
SEQ : Sequence
in plain text
PHD : Quality
score file
PDF : AB1 files
in PDF format for image processing
or printing |
They are compressed in ZIP file and the download link is sent in the result email. |
How
long can you read?
| |
It depends on the sample
condition, but in most ideal condition we
read about 1,050 bases with Q20 or higher
in more than 650 bases. |
|
|
| Invoicing |
What
is PO(Purchase Order) number?
| |
It has many different names depending
on the institution you work for,
but the most common name is Purchase
Order number. Your institution
will issue an internal reference
number for every purchase made
in that institution. This is
what we call PO number. This
number will appear on our invoice
to you so that the financial
manager in your institution can
match the invoice with purchase.
Some institutions may not have
PO number, and in such case you
may leave it blank. |
Do
I have individual invoices per sample shipment?
| |
No. The invoice is issued only once by the time the order for labels is made.
Even if you buy 1,000 labels at a time, and send 50 samples every week, you
will have only a single invoice for the 1,000 labels. So you do not need
to struggle with all the paperworks. |
Do
I have free shipping of the samples?
| |
For most of European countries, we
keep the 20-sample free shipping policy,
but there are some exceptional countries
where our courier charges exceptionally high
price for the shipping. In such countries,
it is 30. Please contact us for details about
these exceptional countries. |
Can
I have discount on many labels?
|
|
| Sample condition |
How
do you do the purification of PCR products
with primer already mixed?
| |
Our R&D team successfully
developed Macrogen's unique technology
called MSE based on partial dephosphorylation,
and could sepcifically eliminates
the molecules with minority,
and EZ-seq Purification adopts
this technology. So please feel
free to mix the primer. |
I
want to use one of the universal primers.
Can I get this primer?
| |
When you make order,
you can tell use your preferred primer.
We will send this primer along with your
labels. |
Can
EZ-seq work on large-sized molecules
like BAC or gDNA?
| |
The success rate of
sequencing reaction is in proportional
to the number of molecules, not the amount
of DNA. So even when
we have same amout (ng or ug) of DNA,
the number of molecules will be highly
variable depending on the size of the DNA,
that is, the smaller, the better. So generally
the success rate of large molecules like
BAC of gDNA is much lower than PCR products
of plasmid. But by increasing the concentration
of template DNA, we can match up the
number of molecules to a certain degree.
When you want to sequence these large
molecules, we advise you to use the DNA
with highest concentration possible. |
What
is the optimal concentration of DNA and
primer?
| |
In all cases, the volume
of template and primer is
5ul + 5ul to make total
of 10ul. The concentration varies depending
on the services.
EZ-seq (without purification)
Template : 50~100ng / ul
Primer : 5pmole / ul
EZ-seq Purification
PCR product : 50ng/ul
Primer : 10pmole / ul |
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| I’m in trouble! |
I
lost my labels.
| |
Don’t worry. Your usage
of label is kept in our LIMS(Laboratory
Management Information System)
server. Let us know of your situation
and we will reissue the labels
and send them to you. These labels
will have same serial number
with your previous labels, so
it is important to discard the
old labels even though you find
them later as our LIMS validates
every label by the time it is
scanned. |
I
didn’t get the results yet.
| |
There are three possibilities.
1) Failure of sample delivery : Please provide us with the tracking number of
your samples.
2) Failure of sample processing : Due to some reasons(such as lid is open on
the way,
or no DNA in the tube) the samples may not be processed
to save your labels.
In this case,
our staff may have contacted you via email.
If you didn’t receive this email even in SPAM folder,
please contact us immediately.
(europe@macrogen.com)
3) Failure of email address : Some of institutions do not allow emails with direct
link in it.
Please contact your system administrator is this
is the case. If not, please contact us
(europe@macrogen.com) immediately and
we will have it corrected ASAP. |
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| Miscellaneous |
How
can you make the sequencing so inexpensive?
| |
As
many people know, the largest portion of
sequencing cost is the dye terminator, machinery
depreciation, and labor cost.
Among
these, cost saving in dye terminator
already reached its saturation point, so
the price comes from the other two. Thanks
to the early adoption of our
high-throughput sequencers,
we already finished depreciation of the machines.
Also by automation in the laboratory,
the labor cost got much lowered. More
than anything else, we are a scientists-dedicated
company, and we keep our price to
the level that we think is reasonable
regardless of the market price. |
Can
I work in Macrogen?
| |
The door of Macrogen is always open. If you have passion to become a global player
in genomics field, please send your introduction with CV to us. Also, many
internship possibilities are available. Please feel free to contact us. |
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