Set up Olink in your own lab

Olink’s core mission is to accelerate proteomics, together with the scientific community. From the start, Olink has supported countless researchers to carry out and advance their proteomics research using our PEA-based products, with the technology available as both kits and fee-for service sample analysis. While many customers like to have their samples analyzed by experienced experts in running our platform, an increasing number of labs around the world are setting up the technology in their own facilities, either to run their own studies in-house, or as a trained Olink sample analysis service provider. Many core labs have seen the value in adding Olink’s protein biomarker platform to their multiomic technology offerings, as ever more customers look to add high quality proteomics to their research strategies.

Easy implementation supported by our experts

Olink has developed a training package to ensure the highest possible quality of data output for customers and partners running Olink analysis. From instrument set up to running your first analysis, the Olink Field Application Scientist team will help you set up the entire Olink workflow in your lab so that you can easily run your own proteomics analyses.

Hardware requirements

Our platforms incorporate either qPCR or NGS as a readout method, so many of the other instruments required for Olink protocols may already be established in your lab. The DNA amplicons produced during an Olink assay may be quantified either by qPCR (using our new dedicated Olink® Signature instrument, or a Fluidigm BioMark™) or by NGS using Illumina® NovaSeq™ 6000 or NextSeq™ sequencers.

Olink Target products use qPCR as their readout method, therefore require lab equipment found in most labs. Immunoassays are prepared manually, and only require a fume hood, pipettes, a centrifuge, and plate vortex. DNA amplification is carried out using PCR machines, and either of the qPCR machines mentioned above for qPCR sequence the resulting products.

While the protocols for the qPCR-based Olink Target products are more manual, the NGS-based Olink Explore products are optimized to be run on a semi-automated system. This reduces the hands-on time, as well as the volume of sample required to perform the Explore analysis. This is made possible through the SPT Labtech Dragonfly and Mosquito, two pipetting systems which were created to pipette minute volumes, which are ideally suited to the extremely low sample volumes used in Olink assays. The Dragonfly and Mosquito may be used to miniaturize and automate other applications as well, extending their benefit to your other analyses.

A simple training process is all that is then required to become an Olink external lab partner. Once trained, our partners also get privileged access to a wealth of additional technical support content that is provided on our members-only partner web pages.

Olink has over 35 external lab partners and growing, bringing our outstanding technology to more researchers than ever before. Join us in our mission as we bring proteomics to the next generation. If you would like to partner with us as an external provider, send us an email here.

Become a service provider

Now you can also become a trained service provider to offer proteomics analysis using our most comprehensive collection of protein assays, Olink® Explore 3072. For more information on how to become an external service provider in Olink Explore, watch the video below.