Abstract
Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues is an invaluable study resource for research, especially for biomarker detection. The advance of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) allows researchers to study genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes using limited sample material such as FFPE tissues. However, there are challenges for nucleic acids extraction from FFPE tissue due to how FFPE samples are prepared. The nucleic acid quality and integrity are often affected by duration of tissue fixation, age and storage condition of tissue blocks, and the extraction method. Here we present a streamlined NGS ready to use sample prep workflow for FFPE tissue using a product in current development FormaPure XL Total (Beckman Coulter Life Science). FormaPure XL Total uses SPRI (Solid Phase Reverse Immobilization) paramagnetic beads to isolate DNA and RNA simultaneously. Up to 7 10m/curls of FFPE tissue can be processed by FormaPure XL Total in one single reaction. For researchers who have high throughput needs, we implemented an automated FFPE extraction method on a Biomek i5 Span8 automated workstation using FormaPure XL Total. Total of 7 FFPE tissues that represent 4 different tumor types: liver, large intestine, breast and brain were demonstrated on a Biomek i5 Span8 automated workstation. The work flow takes less than 6.5 hours with only 30 minutes hands on time. FormaPure XL Total provides consistent and efficient extraction performance from FFPE tissues, and it is easy to accommodate tissue input variations.