Single-cell technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of biology by peeling back the layers of complexity within living things. Traditionally, researchers studied cells in bulk populations, averaging out the unique behaviors of individual cells. However, single-cell analysis allows us to peer into the inner workings of each cell, revealing a hidden world of diversity.
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The technology utilises Gel Beads which contain millions of barcoded oligonucleotides and are mixed with cells or nuclei from a sample pool at a flow rate designed by 10X to ensure each Gel Bead binds to a single cell or nucleus. An oil suspension is then used to capture each single bead, cell, and the immediately surrounding reagents in a bubble which then serves as a reaction vesicle, termed a GEM (Gel Bead in EMulsion). The bead is subsequently dissolved and the RNA extracted from the cell/nucleus, reverse transcribed and barcoded with a unique barcode sequence that was inside the Gel Bead. |
| The cDNA from all the cells in each sample are subsequently pooled, the oil removed and the barcoded cDNA given adapters for NGS sequencing. Downstream of sequencing, the unique barcode tags from the Gel Beads enable the transcripts from each individual cell or nucleus to be grouped together during analysis. |  |
For queries relating to collaborating with the Genomics teams at The University of Sheffield please email: genomics-group@sheffield.ac.uk