skip to: main content | section menu | full site menu

Technology Transfer from the University of Oxford

Licensing Opportunities

single molecule dna sequencing technology - Isis Project No 3322

Oxford researchers have invented a new single molecule, real-time fluorescence and polymerase-based DNA sequencing technology that has the potential to be faster, more accurate and cheaper than existing sequencing technologies.

Marketing Opportunity

Over 2 billion US dollars were spent on sequencing the first human genome. Following the launch of second-generation DNA sequencers from Illumina, Roche and Applied Biosystems, the cost of sequencing the human genome in 2008 was approximately US$100,000. However, it is widely thought that it will be the third-generation of single-molecule sequencing technologies, currently in development, that will achieve the target of the US$1000 genome.

The Oxford Invention

The Oxford invention uses fluorescence-based single molecule sequencing methods that utilise dark quencher-labelled nucleotides and double-labelled polymerases.

The main advantages of the Oxford invention are:  Incorporation of labelled nucleotide

  • Double-labelled polymerases remove the likelihood of a false signal from fluorescence changes such as fluorophore blinking giving improved accuracy.
  • Dark quencher-labelled nucleotides enable micromolar concentrations of nucleotides to be used resulting in a high signal-to-noise ratio and increased speed of sequencing.
  • Four dark quenchers cause simultaneous differential quenching enabling simple base assignment.
  • Real-time approach without complicated microfluidics, washes, or cleavage reactions for incorporating/removing chromophores.
  • Requires no nanofabrication and its associated cost/complexity.
  • Can offer fast, long reads.
  • Can allow simultaneous reading of a single DNA molecule by multiple polymerases allowing improved base-calling accuracy.

Patent Status

The Oxford invention is the subject of published international patent application number WO2009/056831. Isis would like to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunity. Please contact the Isis Project Manager.

Request Further Information: Project Number 3322 - Single Molecule DNA Sequencing Technology