Oxford Nanopore launches Microbial Amplicon Barcoding Kit for faster, more flexible microbial profiling

Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the company behind a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, has announced the launch of its Microbial Amplicon Barcoding Kit 24 V14, to enable faster and more flexible microbial analysis in a single workflow.

Oxford Nanopore’s new kit has been optimised to provide an information-rich, rapid, and accessible full-length amplicon protocol, that streamlines the approach for the identification of bacteria, archaea, and fungi, and enables enhanced microbial community profiling.

By decoupling primers from the library prep chemistry, the workflow is significantly more flexible, and customisable. It delivers higher-quality results by capturing full-length gene regions that scientists commonly use to identify microbes - the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the ITS region for fungi - while also enabling users to integrate their own custom primers.

With a simplified workflow, users can move from DNA extraction to a sequencing-ready amplicon library in approximately one hour following PCR, with no limitations on sample batching. This allows labs and researchers to obtain same day results, and process samples on demand more affordably. In the future, this could support faster decision making across a wide range of applications, such as quicker identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens directly from the sample and higher-resolution food safety checks without batching delays.

“With the launch of the Microbial Amplicon Barcoding Kit, Oxford Nanopore is redefining microbial community profiling,” said Rosemary Sinclair-Dokos, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Oxford Nanopore. “Instead of being restricted to partial gene fragments and extensive, batching-dependent workflows, labs can now profile bacteria, archaea, and fungi with complete coverage, higher sensitivity, and unmatched flexibility, enabling actionable results within the same day.”

The Microbial Amplicon Barcoding Kit 24 V14 is available now via the Oxford Nanopore store. A dedicated webinar and new resources will support users in getting started.