PCR-EZ Frequently Asked Questions

• Clonal, linear, purified, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) PCR products with a concentration range of 20-200ng/µL in a minimum volume of 10 µL submitted in 1.5 mL flip-cap tubes or sealed 96-well plates.
• Clonal, linear, unpurified, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) PCR products in a minimum volume of 20 µL submitted in 1.5 mL flip-cap tubes or sealed 96-well plates.
• Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) are not supported at this time and results are not guaranteed.

No, we do not require you to normalize your PCR product concentration. We accept samples with a concentration of 20-100 ng/µL.

PCR amplicons 500 bp to 25 kb can be sequenced using this workflow.

No, primers are not needed. Samples are sequenced without primers; therefore, please do not send or mix primers with your sample submission.

No, this service is intended for a clonal population of PCR amplicons. See Troubleshooting for more details.

There is a risk of obtaining poor-quality data.

Samples may be submitted at any time. Samples must be received in the morning at our facility to be eligible for that day’s cycle. Projects with incomplete information may be placed in the next sequencing cycle. Results are delivered the same day in select regions or in as fast as 1 business day.

Purified Linear PCR:

• Sample Type: Purified Amplicon DNA
• Size: 500 bp – 25 kb; if larger than 25kb, please submit an inquiry for a technical consultation
• Minimum Volume: 10 µL
• Sample Concentration: 20-200 ng/µL
• Purity (A260/280): 1.8-2.0
• Buffer: Water, EB, or low TE (<0.1 mM EDTA)

Unpurified Linear PCR:

• Sample Type: Unpurified Amplicon DNA
• Size: 500 bp – 25 kb; if larger than 25kb, please submit an inquiry for a technical consultation
• We recommend providing a gel image to help us estimate DNA concentration and optimize the dilution after enzymatic cleanup
• Buffer: Water, EB, or low TE (<0.1 mM EDTA)

Please refer to sample submission guidelinessample submission guidelines.

Tubes for <48 Samples

• Please use 1.5 mL flip-cap tubes for sample submission.
• Label your tubes with a) yellow prepaid barcodes that can be assigned to your samples within our online ordering system, or b) the corresponding sample name.​

Plates for >48 Samples​

• If you have a high number of samples, we recommend using a 96-well plate. Cap the wells with 8-strip caps. These are usually ordered separately from the plates. Be sure that the caps seal tightly! Please ship the plate with cushioning to avoid potential damage.
• Please contact us for help finding a vendor if your laboratory does not have any 96-well plates or matching strip caps.
• Arrange your samples vertically (in columns) as shown below:

Please send your samples with a copy of your order receipt to us using one of the following options.

Option #1: Submit samples in a local dropbox at room temperature. We have an extensive network of convenient dropboxes located throughout the European Union and the UK. To find a dropbox near you please contact us at logistics.europe@azenta.com (EU) / genomics.service.UK@azenta.com (UK). Place the samples and order receipt together in a Ziploc bag.

Ship samples directly to our facility using an overnight delivery service such as DHL. The shipping address will be listed on your order receipt. You can ship at room temperature or on blue/dry ice.

All direct shipments should be sent to:

When submitting an order in our customer portal, the final step will locate the nearest dropboxes to your institution. You can then choose the dropbox where you will leave your sample for PCR-EZ. During checkout, consult the Order Summary page to find out the daily cutoff times for your selected dropbox (see example below).

If you miss the dropbox deadline, feel free to ship samples directly to us.

*Read count depends on amplicon number and plasmid size. Expect up to 5,000 reads for amplicons under 6 kb.

Once data analysis is complete, your data will be delivered electronically by sFTP link, email, or through your online account. If applicable, login credentials and instructions on how to retrieve your data will be included in the data delivery email sent to you. Please feel free to contact us should you have trouble retrieving your data. You may also refer to our sFTP Data Download Guide for instructions on how to download your data and troubleshooting tips.

You can order PCR-EZ in minutes without a quote. Visit genewiz.com and login to your GENEWIZ account to place an order.

Coverage is highly dependent on sample quality as determined by end-user prior to sample submission and therefore, cannot be guaranteed for this service.

The estimated delivery date for your order can be viewed anytime through your online account, on the Order Summary page. Due to the fast turnaround time of this service, we do not provide detailed project updates (i.e. timestamps for QC, library preparation, sequencing, and data analysis).

Samples are processed every weekday. Results are available the next business day after sample drop-off (purified PCR products) or the next business day after sample receipt (unpurified PCR products).

No, we do not perform sample QC. This enables us to provide rapid and cost-effective service for amplicon sequencing. Please measure the concentration of your purified samples (preferably using a dsDNA quantification assay such as Qubit™ or PicoGreenTM) and normalize to 50 ng/µL prior to submission.

For clonal PCR products: an interactive data report, consensus sequence of amplicon in fasta format, raw reads in fastq files, and a sequence variant report.

Once data analysis is complete, your data will be delivered through your online account. Please feel free to contact us should you have trouble retrieving your data.

Yes, we take data security very seriously and make every attempt to keep your data private and protected. The data transfer we offer is secure; however, should you desire an alternative delivery method, we are happy to work with you.

All custom bioinformatic analysis requests are taken on a case-by-case basis. Please submit an inquiry inquiry for a technical consultation. Please note that any customization outside our standard deliverables will incur additional charges and time.

It is likely that sequencing failure (i.e. failure of the sample to produce consensus sequence with at least 10x coverage or less) may be due to samples not prepared at the required DNA concentration, containing a mixed plasmid population, or degraded/fragmented DNA.

To achieve optimal sequencing results, please follow our recommended sample submission guidelines.

We cannot guarantee the results of the sequencing data. If you feel that a processing error may have occurred, please contact us and we will investigate on a case-by-case basis.