Portable, real-time biological analyses
MinION is the only portable real-time device for DNA and RNA sequencing.
Each consumable flow cell can now generate 10–20 Gb of DNA sequence data. Ultra-long read lengths are possible (hundreds of kb) as you can choose your fragment length. The MinION streams data in real time so that analysis can be performed during the experiment and workflows are fully versatile.
The MinION weighs under 100 g and plugs into a PC or laptop using a high-speed USB 3.0 cable. No additional computing infrastructure is required. Not constrained to a laboratory environment, it has been used up a mountain, in a jungle, in the arctic and on the International Space Station.
The MinION is commercially available, simply by paying a starter-pack fee of $1,000. The MinION starter pack includes materials you need to run initial sequencing experiments, including a MinION device, flow cells and kits, as well as membership of the Nanopore Community.
How are people using the MinION?
The MinION is being used for a number of biological analysis techniques including de novo sequencing, targeted sequencing, metagenomics, epigenetics and more. Review publications here.
Already well established in communities interested in pathogen analysis and environmental research, its use is now expanding for larger genomes and datasets. The MinION has now been used to sequence human genomes. Read more about how MinION is being used in your community here.
Why MinION?
MinION workflow
MinION workflows are designed for simplicity.
1D library preparation can take <10 minutes. A range of preparation kits are available to support analysis of DNA, cDNA and direct RNA. Data is streamed in real time, allowing you to run the instrument until you have generated sufficient data to answer the question and then move on to the next experiment. Real-time analyses can also provide a faster sample-to-answer time. Learn more about rapid workflows.