Epigenetic Clocks and Biological Age: Equipment and Methods

Epigenetic Clocks and Biological Age: Equipment for DNA Methylation Analysis

Epigenetic clocks are currently the most accurate tool for determining biological age. Based on the analysis of DNA methylation patterns, they make it possible to estimate the rate of aging, predict the risk of age-related diseases and objectively monitor the effectiveness of anti-aging interventions.

For an anti-aging laboratory, epigenetic clocks are both a client-facing product ("biological age testing") and a research tool for evaluating the effectiveness of therapies. However, implementation requires specialized equipment and bioinformatics expertise.

Generations of Epigenetic Clocks

Epigenetic clocks have evolved over several generations, each with improved predictive power:

Clock	Author/Year	Number of CpG sites	What it measures	Application
Horvath	Horvath, 2013	353	Chronological age	Baseline biological age
Hannum	Hannum, 2013	71	Chronological age	Alternative estimator
PhenoAge	Levine, 2018	513	Mortality, morbidity	Health predictor
GrimAge	Lu, 2019	1030	Mortality, smoking	Best mortality predictor
DunedinPACE	Belsky, 2022	173	Pace of aging	Therapy monitoring

New Approaches in 2025–2026

Recent developments are making epigenetic clocks more accessible:

EpiAgePublic: a simplified clock based on just 3 CpG sites in the ELOVL2 gene. It is measured by pyrosequencing, which is considerably cheaper than microarray methods.
Skin epigenetic clocks: non-invasive sample collection with MitraSolo/MitraCluster.
Organ-specific clocks: heart, kidneys, liver and brain; they determine the rate of aging of individual organs.
Nucleosome positioning: next-generation clocks based on changes in chromatin architecture.

DNA Methylation Measurement Technologies

The choice of technology depends on the type of clock and the testing volume:

Illumina EPIC v2 (850K): a microarray covering 850,000+ CpG sites. Suitable for all clock generations. Requires an iScan or NextSeq scanner.
EM-seq (enzymatic methyl sequencing): an alternative to bisulfite sequencing with less DNA degradation. Requires an NGS sequencer.
Pyrosequencing: for simplified clocks (EpiAgePublic, 3–10 sites). QIAGEN PyroMark Q48/Q96 offers an affordable entry point into epigenetics.
Oxford Nanopore: direct methylation detection without conversion. Promising for clinical use.

Equipment for an Epigenetics Laboratory

Minimum and extended equipment sets:

NGS sequencer: Illumina MiSeq (low volumes), NextSeq 2000 (medium volumes), NovaSeq X (large research projects).
Microarray scanner: Illumina iScan for EPIC v2 arrays.
Pyrosequencer: QIAGEN PyroMark Q48 (entry level) or Q96 MD (high throughput).
DNA extraction system: automated (QIAGEN QIAsymphony, Promega Maxwell RSC).
Bisulfite conversion station: thermal cycler + EZ DNA Methylation Kit (Zymo Research).
Compute server: for bioinformatics analysis. At least 64 GB RAM, a multi-core processor and a GPU for ML models.

KombiMED: Equipment for Epigenetic Research

KombiMED GmbH can help equip your laboratory to work with epigenetic clocks, from pyrosequencers for simplified panels to NGS sequencers and microarray scanners for genome-wide profiling. Combining epigenetic clocks with telomere analysis and NGS genetic panels for aging risk creates a comprehensive portfolio of anti-aging services. Contact KombiMED to discuss your project.