Los Angeles, February 10th, 2014 – Last week, Stephen Fodor and his team at Cellular Research published a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) describing a highly quantitative molecular indexing method that enables RNA sequencing that is both more accurate and highly targeted. This method relies on the capture and labelling of mRNAs of interest from complex cDNA libraries that can subsequently be tracked, sequenced and quantified. More specifically, DNA barcodes are randomly assigned to individual mRNA in each samples at the time of reverse transcription, and bioinformatically deconvoluted post-sequencing. In essence, tagging at the time of reverse transcription eliminates the library preparation amplification bias.This methodology ostensibly permits the detection and quantification of rare variants that would otherwise be undetectable, given their low abundance. As a result, this paper highlights the need for closer monitoring of standard library preparation methods.This paper also demonstrates proof-of-concept for the company’s new PIXEL System™ platform. As described on the company’s website (cellular-research.com), PIXEL “is a standalone detection platform for direct mRNA detection from single cell and rare samples”. This platform uses Molecular Indexing™, a technology developed by Cellular Research using an IP acquired from Affymetrix). According to the company, Molecular Indexing offers the following benefits:

1. Absolute quantitation with single molecule precision without PCR / NGS bias
2. High plex (up to 1,000 indices for counting applications, as demonstrated in their PNAS publication)
3. Non-destructive approach, with the ability to repeat experiments on a tested sample, which is currently not feasible using digital PCR (dPCR), and limited / no dead volume (vs. a little under half the volume wasted using dPCR)
4. Streamlined workflow (~1 hr. hands-on time)
5. Compatible with NGS
6. Low cost with both a low capital investment (The company is targeting instrument costs of <$25,000) and low cost per sample (~$10 per reaction)

Martin Pieprzyk, Director of marketing at Cellular Research told us a bit more about this exciting new platform and product. “Using the PIXEL16 detector enables scientists to look at 16 different targets in a single cell at a cost of $10 per reaction all in”. Pieprzyk added that currently, about half of their customers rely on single cells isolated using Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), with the other half relying on micromanipulation. “The workflow is straightforward; we’re talking about 1 hr. of hands-on-time, with a complete turnaround time of as little as 8 hours, including a 3 hr. hybridization step [that can be performed overnight for convenience]”.While PIXEL will be officially announced at the Advances in Genome Biology & Technology conference (AGBT), Pierprzyk mentioned that “[the platform] will be available in the near future and is already placed at 9 different sites worldwide”. In addition, he highlighted the release of a second product scheduled for Q2 2014. This second platform will enable the simultaneous sequencing of up to 384 single cells. “What is nice about this new product is that it will have back and forth compatibility. You’ll be able to compare the results that you get using sequencing and our platform.”The company is expected to compete head-to-head with Fluidigm and other single cell players to capture the rapidly growing single cell genomics market, a market for which DeciBio provides more information in an annual report (single cell genomics market). For more information on Cellular Research, visit cellular-research.com---

Authors: Stephane Budel, Partner at DeciBio, LLCConnect with Stephane Budel on Google+https://plus.google.com/+StephaneBudel