Sanger Sequencing

Important Notice

For close to two decades, the UMGC has provided on-campus Sanger sequencing services to the UMN research community. Though Sanger sequencing continues to have an essential place in life science research, the UMGC ceased providing an on-campus service on Friday, July 1, 2022, as Sanger sequencing is now best served by outsourcing to a commercial provider. Further details about our decision can be found in our April announcement.

The UMGC has worked with three commercial vendors – Azenta (Genewiz), Eurofins, and ACGT – in order to ensure that our Sanger users have good options for outsourcing. Given the commoditized nature of Sanger sequencing and the excellent reputations of these vendors, we are confident we will be linking you to fast turnaround times at competitive prices, with high-quality results, and on-campus drop-off locations.

Archival Sanger results will be accessible in the online ordering system until Dec 31, 2022, and it is recommended to transfer any needed files now to a permanent storage location. Directions on how to download your Sanger data can be found here.  

Steps to consider when transitioning to a new provider:

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Determine which provider will work best for your lab

UMGC Sanger users are encouraged to become familiar with the below commercial providers by viewing their Sanger webpages, watching their webinars, making use of any free Sanger sequencing for test runs, and reaching out to the sales representatives listed below. Cost, turnaround time, and quality are for the user to determine.

ACGT

Azenta

Eurofins

Set up your account and determine your payment method

Our internal (UMN) and external Sanger users should set up accounts directly with their chosen provider (there are no UMN requirements that govern this step). Account registration with each provider is straightforward. Registration links: ACGT,  Azenta, Eurofins.

In the future, “punchout” access through integration with UMarket may be offered by the commercial providers, pending their discussions with UMarket Services; the UMGC itself is unable to facilitate the addition of vendors to UMarket. 

In order to place a Sanger order, you will need to first establish a payment method:

  • ACGT: PO number, purchasing agent (payment link option), credit card, ACGT card (pre-pay option - check with your department administrator on whether this is an option)
  • Azenta: PO number, credit card
  • Eurofins: PO number, credit card, EVO card (pre-pay option - check with your department administrator on whether this is an option)

It can take 1-3 days for the UMN to issue a purchase order for an amount less than $50,000, depending on your department. Two different types of purchase orders can be requested:

  • Standard PO for a one-time order
  • Blanket/Standing PO for a set timeframe with a maximum dollar amount and allows for multiple orders

For frequent Sanger users, a blanket PO will likely be preferred as a time-saving payment option. However, please reach out to your own department administrator to determine the appropriate payment method for your lab based on University policy.

Determine if you will use dropboxes or shipping

ACGT

Dropboxes:

  • Mpls campus (4 p.m. pick-up): 2nd Floor Walkway between Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) and Moos Tower
  • St. Paul campus (5 p.m. pick-up): 142 Gortner Lab Bldg

Shipping:

  • For users not on the UMN Twin Cities campus, ACGT offers free FedEx shipping labels for orders of 20+ sequencing reactions if there isn’t an ACGT drop box at your institution.

Azenta

Dropboxes:

  • Mpls campus (2 p.m. cut-off): 6-113 Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB), (behind security doors)
  • Mpls campus (1:30 p.m. cut-off): 4-230B Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building (CCRB), bench 66, (behind security doors)
  • St. Paul campus (5 p.m. cut-off): 142 Gortner Lab Bldg, (open access)

Shipping:

  • Provides free FedEx shipping for 10 or more samples when a dropbox is not available. Contact Mike Bullard for details. 

Contact Mike Bullard to see if hosting a dropbox would work for your lab area. Azenta is open to expanding locations and implementing a paid courier service depending on the UMN’s Sanger needs.

Eurofins

Dropboxes: Coming this summer to the UMN Twin Cities campus.

Shipping:

  • Provides UPS labels for free shipping if the value of the sequencing items exceeds a minimum threshold. The minimum threshold is between 3-8 reactions depending on options and pricing— more details on shipping. 
  • Users package samples and mail at a campus UPS drop-off site before the last collection time of the day. Samples can be shipped in any box/envelope that you source and UMN KE and BDD docks will commonly have free UPS envelopes available. 

UMN discount shipping: As a reminder, the UMN has contracts with FedEx and UPS for discount shipping. Reach out to the key account manager to set up a UMN account for your lab. UMarket estimates there are approximately 20 FedEx/UPS drop-off boxes on the Twin Cities campuses for prelabeled envelopes and small packages; you can search on the carrier's websites to find these campus locations.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Sanger services ending on July 1st, please reach out to Dr. Kenny Beckman at kbeckman@umn.edu. For questions about downloading your archival Sanger data, contact umgcseq@umn.edu.