Abstract

Microfluidic Single Cell Gene Expression Analysis Platform For Deep Profiling of Complex Cell Populations

Rajiv Bharadwaj, Director, Microfluidics, 10x Genomics

High throughput single cell transcriptomics is the key to uncovering the true biological complexity of heterogeneous populations. The existing single cell RNA-sequencing methods have low throughput and complicated workflows that limit the widespread adoption of single cell mRNA analyses. 10X Genomics has developed a fully integrated and scalable microfluidic platform for transcriptional profiling of 1,000s to 10,000s of individual cells.

At the core of the technology is a picoliter-sized droplet that encapsulates a single cell and a single gel bead containing barcoded oligonucleotides. Barcoded reverse transcription occurs inside each droplet and enables detection of thousands of genes per cell, including low abundance transcripts. The system captures 50% of loaded cells with a low doublet rate of around 1%, making it suitable for profiling of rare and precious cell populations.

We have applied this system to profile a variety of complex cell populations, including tens of thousands of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Abundant and rare (dendritic cells, neutrophils) cell populations were detected at expected proportions, validating the system performance. We believe that the integrated droplet-based platform will enable widespread adoption of single cell mRNA analysis and accelerate the characterization of complex biological systems.