Guía visual: Cómo funciona la secuenciación del Ion Torrent

The DNA sequencing process begins with sample preparation, where we first fragment the DNA into shorter sequences.These DNA fragments are then joined with specific adapters, which are crucial for the subsequent steps of the process.The fragments are then encapsulated in microscopic droplets through an emulsion PCR process.Within each droplet, PCR amplification creates multiple copies of the DNA fragment.Finally, these microspheres, each containing multiple copies of a unique DNA fragment, are deposited into individual wells on a semiconductor chip.During DNA sequencing, nucleotides are added one at a time to the growing DNA strand.A pH sensor at the base of each well monitors changes in acidity, while an electrical signal detector records the changes.The pH changes are converted into electrical signals, creating a pattern that represents the DNA sequence.This process continues for each nucleotide, building the DNA sequence one base at a time.The electrical signals from each well are processed to remove background noise and identify true nucleotide incorporation events.Advanced filtering algorithms clean up the signal by removing random fluctuations and systematic noise.The software identifies signal peaks that correspond to nucleotide incorporation events.The intensity of each signal peak indicates how many identical nucleotides were incorporated in sequence.This information is used to construct the DNA sequence, where multiple identical nucleotides are indicated by stronger signals.The software applies multiple error correction algorithms to ensure accurate sequence reads.