CARTANA expands range of <em>in situ</em> sequencing kits for high-throughput single-cell gene expression mapping

Swedish biotechnology company CARTANA has announced the launch of a new range of in situ sequencing (ISS) reagent kits designed to increase the efficiency and enable ISS on virtually any tissue sample. Users will be able to analyze either fresh/fixed frozen or FFPE samples and rapidly create single cell gene expression maps of up to 600 genes.

The new ISS technology supports a broad variety of research areas such as immuno-oncology or any other cancer field. CARTANA has already been successful in the neuroscience field and has recently been selected as a platform technology provider for 3 major Horizon 2020 Human Cell Atlas projects. These new products widen the applications areas making CARTANA an even more attractive technology provider for drug discovery and academic research.

The new kit products contain improved probing and sequencing technologies and come with easy-to-follow protocols for library preparation and sequencing, respectively. The “HS Library Preparation Kit” is used to probe directly up to 600 RNA targets without the need for cDNA synthesis and generates barcoded in situ sequencing libraries with higher efficiency compared to the previous cDNA-based library preparation approach, initially published in 2013 (Ke, et al. 2013).

“Our new HS library preparation kit has a strongly increased sensitivity with around 5 to 10 times more counts than our previous cDNA-based version”, said Malte Kühnemund, VP R&D at CARTANA. Furthermore, the new “ISS kit” sequences the barcodes in the libraries directly in situ, with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and specificity compared to the previous state-of-the-art ISS technology. The new ISS kit contains 6 sequencing cycles and decodes up to 600 barcodes using a standard fluorescent microscope.

“The robust chemistry and easy-to-use protocol enable a broad adoption of ISS to virtually any laboratory equipped with a fluorescent microscope. With these new kits we expect that increasing number of labs will start to establish the CARTANA technology in house.”, said Mårten Winge, CEO of CARTANA. Both products are available from May 1st, 2020. Gene panels with genes for several disease areas are being developed, but customized genes are also available for specific areas of interest. Tissue samples from all organs and all species are compatible with the kits, including fresh/fixed frozen or FFPE samples.

For more of the latest science news, straight to your inbox, become a member of SelectScience for free today>>