Detection of adapter dimers in NGS libraries with the Agilent Fragment Analyzer and TapeStation Systems

In this application note, Agilent Technologies explains the significance of minimizing adapter dimers in NGS libraries before sequencing. Adapter dimers are formed when two adapters ligate to each other without any insert, leading to erroneous sequencing data. Even small amounts of adapter dimers can cause detrimental sequencing results by affecting library quantification, flow cell loading, clustering efficiency, diversity, and genome coverage. In this note, Agilent's Fragment Analyzer and TapeStation Systems is introduced as a way to accurately and reliably detect adapter dimers below the recommended threshold of 0.5%, providing valuable data to evaluate library quality and make important decisions regarding subsequent analysis.