What's Happening?
Parse Biosciences, a QIAGEN company, has launched a new FFPE-compatible barcoding technology designed to enhance whole transcriptome single cell RNA sequencing. This technology, known as Evercode Whole Transcriptome FFPE kits, is now commercially available
and aims to overcome the challenges associated with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Traditionally, FFPE preservation has posed significant difficulties for single-cell RNA sequencing due to RNA degradation and fragmentation, which limited researchers to predefined gene panels. The new technology employs a novel split-pool combinatorial barcoding approach and proprietary reverse transcription-based RNA capture chemistry, allowing for unbiased whole transcriptome single cell profiling of FFPE tissues. This advancement is expected to benefit cancer, neuroscience, and translational researchers by providing single-cell resolution across the full transcriptome for both new and archived FFPE samples.
Why It's Important?
The introduction of this technology is significant for the scientific and medical research communities, particularly in fields such as cancer research and neuroscience. FFPE samples represent a vast reservoir of clinically annotated tissue, which until now, have been largely inaccessible for comprehensive single cell analysis. By enabling true whole transcriptome analysis, researchers can gain deeper insights into transcript diversity and key regulatory transcripts, potentially leading to groundbreaking discoveries in disease treatment and understanding. This advancement could accelerate progress in various areas of human health, including cancer treatment, tissue repair, and stem cell therapy, by providing a more complete biological picture from previously challenging sample types.
What's Next?
With the launch of the Evercode Whole Transcriptome FFPE kits, Parse Biosciences is poised to impact the research landscape significantly. Researchers are expected to adopt this technology to explore new dimensions of single cell analysis, potentially leading to new discoveries and innovations in medical research. The company is actively promoting the technology at scientific meetings, such as the upcoming AACR meeting, and through their website, where researchers can access the latest datasets. As the technology gains traction, it may prompt further developments and enhancements in single cell sequencing methodologies.
