Improving Quality Control and Workflow Management in High- Throughput Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotyping Environments

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping is a fundamental tool in the rapidly growing area of complex diseases and pharmacogenomics. SNP patterns that correlate with disease or response to treatment, respectively, are identified using bioinformatic techniques. We present an integrated laboratory information and management system (LIMS) for our high-throughput TaqMan™-based SNP genotyping platform. Three new client tools (ProjectManager, AssayManager, OrderTool) for our LIMS improve quality control and workflow management. The programs support organizing multiple genotyping experiments as projects, managing reagents with barcodes, and automation of assay ordering. The tools are freely available at our homepage.